Beautiful Savior
by SlightlySpiteful
Summary: RaphaelxOC. Slightly AU. May seem Yuri during the first few chapters but it isn't. I'M BACK! CHAPTER 11 IS UP! Raphael, no longer demonic, meets Lilith by chance on a quest for redemption. Along the way, they meet many allies.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing! This is the rewritten version of Chapter 1.

* * *

Raphael watched as Amy walked off with Kilik. Kilik had cured her and himself but Raphael just couldn't take care of Amy right now. His mind was jumbled up, confused. His obsession for his foster daughter overwhelmed him, driving him to madness and Soul Edge leading him to insanity. He just wanted his beloved Amy to have a good life, knowing he could not provide that for her at this point in time. That is why he asked Kilik to take care of her. Amy was shy but he had a feeling she would grow to like Kilik. He was going to miss his daughter. Taking his rapier, Raphael headed out of Walachia to do some soul searching and possibly find redemption.

There's a place in the dark where the wicked go. The sky is grey and rain pelts down on the stone-covered streets. A cloaked figure stands before the Azure Knight as he hands them a fragment of Soul Edge. Taking it and putting it in their cloak, the person bows.

"Are you using the infatuation charm on her?" Nightmare asks the figure, red eyes gleaming behind his helmet's slits.

"Yes…I do not think she suspects anything but I just wish that…the infatuation charm wasn't necessary…It would be nice if she just…felt that way without it…" A voice says from under the hood, unmistakably female.

"All in good time my faithful servant. When you plant that in her you will be one step closer to achieving that dream…" The Azure Knight says before slinking back into the shadows.

"I hope so…" The woman whispers before turning around and walking away into the endless depths of despair coated streets.

**Day 1**

Lilith (under influence of soul edge)'s POV

She always had that affect on me. The way she smiles at me to the way she swings her Chinese Sword when we're in battle. Her short and straight dark red hair falling in her face and her deep ocean blue eyes captivate me; the way she brushes past me when we camp in the tent. I know now that I love her not only as my best friend and mentor but as a lover.

Naomi and I kill for a living but we are not your typical assassins. We are hired to kill only the wickedest of souls. People who rape, people who murder, people who abuse, all of them are on our hit list.

Naomi and I first started working together about three years ago. I was fifteen, just starting out. I was on a mission to kill an abusive man who had beaten his wife and children on a daily basis. Naomi was assigned to the same mission. The wife had hired both of us unbeknownst to us. When we first met we got confused and started fighting one another. The way she moved was like poetry in motion. Naomi was slightly more experienced than I so she defeated me and killed the abusive husband. When Naomi realized I wasn't her enemy she apologized and helped me nurse my wounds. During our time spent together Naomi trained me to become as skilled an assassin as she.

Naomi is nine years my elder so I look up to her. I could only wish to be as graceful in battle with my katana as she is with her Chinese Blade.

End POV

Lilith's hazel eyes fall upon Naomi's slender body as she moves gracefully about with her blade. The burning feeling deep in the pit of Lilith's stomach persisting. She cannot get it to go away. When Naomi is done training she looks over and notices that Lilith is watching. Lilith quickly shrinks back, her long curly golden hair falling in front of her face as pink blush creeps upon her cheeks.

Sauntering over to her friend, Naomi wonders why she is backing up, a look of concern in her eyes.

"Lilith?"

The 5'1'' young woman looks up bashfully at Naomi, her thin frame swaying from side to side slightly, "Yes Naomi?"

"Are you alright?" She asks with well rehearsed concern.

"Of…of course!" Lilith lies, trying not to stare at the sweat glistening off of Naomi's cleavage.

Naomi always did wear outfits that were a bit…promiscuous; plunging necklines and always clothing flattering to her figure.

"If you say so," Naomi says, brushing past her to put her blade away, her chest slighting rubbing up against Lilith's as she passes, sending shivers up Lilith's spine. Quickly snapping out of it, Lilith curses at herself silently wondering what is wrong with her.

Naomi turns to look at Lilith but her back was turned, a smirk on her lips Lilith would never see. Naomi watches her just standing there, staring into space. Lilith had been acting strange for a while now and Naomi knew the reason why all too well.

A strong wind starts to blow and Lilith wraps her arms around herself, shivering from the cold. Rain had fallen not too long ago so the air remains damp and chilly. Seeing her companion shivering, Naomi walks up behind her and wraps her arms around her causing Lilith to jump at the unexpected touch, immediately relaxing upon feeling Naomi's warm breath on her neck.

"Lilith you're cold, you should come inside the tent with me," Naomi says, knowing exactly what she's doing.

"Y…yes Naomi…" Lilith stammers and the two young women go inside their tent, one plotting the other confused.

They lay next to each other, Lilith lying stiff and rigid while Naomi lies a bit more relaxed, a smug look on her face. Looking over to her naïve friend, Naomi puts her plan into action. She smirks to herself, pulling Lilith's body to hers, the warm feeling growing stronger. Lilith looks up at her friend with wide eyes, butterflies dancing around in her stomach and blush coming back to her otherwise pale face once again. Naomi finds herself locking eyes with Lilith and sees fear in them but also sees love and not the love of a friend but that of a lover, exactly what she wants.

"Lilith…" Naomi says slowly leaning her body seductively over Lilith's.

"Y-yes?" Lilith timidly asks.

"You are very beautiful when you blush," Naomi says lying on top of her, straddling her waist.

Lilith watches Naomi do this feeling more and more nervous yet excited at the same time. Her muscles begin to tense up a bit as does her stomach. She can feel her hands trembling slightly, her heart pounding.

"Th…thank you…You are very beautiful too…" Lilith says, voice shaking.

Naomi had been in many relationships with men, always the dominant one in a relationship so she knew how to kindle a fire. Naomi looks down to her lovingly and strokes the side of her face, knowing her companion needs to loosen up.

This whole thing was awkward for Lilith, always being in love with males. Now she was sharing a relationship with her best friend Naomi. Lilith had always had feelings for Naomi, feelings of admiration but for some reason, perhaps not of her own will, they changed. Every time Naomi's thin fingers stroke her face her skin feels unnaturally tingly.

The next thing Naomi does is bring her face closer and closer to Lilith's. She takes a moment to stare into the young woman's eyes before crashing her lips to hers. Naomi presses her body to Lilith's, continuing to kiss her in a fiery passion. Lilith remains motionless for a moment but then starts to loosen up, returning Naomi's fiery kiss.

"Very good, darling," Naomi smirks, satisified, as she pulls back and stares into Lilith's eyes.

Naomi starts to kiss Lilith again more intensely. While Lilith is caught up in the moment, Naomi slides a hand up Lilith's form fitting black top and presses something sharp into her lower back. Lilith, as Naomi had planned, doesn't notice.

Naomi pulls back from kissing Lilith, looking at her with a loving expression. Lilith returns her loving expression with one of her own, mixed with adoration.

"Get some rest young one," Naomi says affectionately, rolling off of her and to her own side of the tent.

"Y-yes Naomi!" The still surprised Lilith says.


	2. Chapter 2

**Who owns Soul Calibur? ...not me... **

**Day 2**

Lilith awakes the next day just before the sun starts to rise and gathers her belongings up. Walking down to the stream near camp, Lilith slowly removes her clothing, making sure no one is watching. Diving head-first into the water, Lilith washes herself off. After she's done washing, the young woman puts on her form fitting black shirt and her form fitting black pants, along with her short black boots and her belt, which is thin leather woven together with a few red jewels adorning it and a black sheathe that contains a small dagger. Lilith dries her hair off so that it hangs in loose curls and places her thin black circlet upon her head, before making her way back to camp.

Naomi has the tent packed and is standing there, waiting for her.

"Are you ready, Lilith?"

"Yes…" Lilith says, looking towards the border of Romania.

Mounting their horses, the two ride off towards the border of Romania. They reach a small town and notice that a lot of the buildings look like they have had fire set on them.

"I wonder what happened here…" Lilith says, her words trailing off, taking in the destruction and eerie silence of the town.

"Why don't we find out?" Naomi suggests, unfazed by the destruction, not even raising an eyebrow in surprise.

A young woman in tattered clothing is weeping in the streets. Dismounting her horse, Lilith approaches her.

"Excuse me miss, what happened here?" Lilith asks, her voice gentle and light.

"The…the…Azure Knight has returned! He slaughtered nearly everyone in our town…he slaughtered my husband…he slain my children…He set our town on fire…I have nothing left…" The woman said sobbing bitterly and clenching her fists, she begins to beat the ground, her hair flying in her face unceremoniously.

Lilith can tell that the young woman is very shaken up over this and leaves her alone, returning to Naomi.

"Naomi the destruction in this town was caused by the Azure Knight. Who is he?"

"The Azure Knight wields Soul Edge, murdering many to quench his thirst for blood. He was rumored to have been defeated but, I guess, he has arisen once again. One like him never truly dies. We should leave this place…" Naomi says.

Suddenly feeling a throbbing in her back, Lilith clutches the spot where Naomi had lodged something in her back.

"Lilith?!" Naomi asks with well rehearsed concern.

"My back…it hurts…agh!" Lilith passes out due to immense pain.

Propping her up on her horse, Naomi rides out of town.

"Everything goes according to plan…" she smirks, "I'm just sorry that you are in pain, my beloved…"

They girls arrive at the next down, Lilith still unconscious. Stopping outside of an inn, Naomi ties the horses up. She picks up Lilith and carries her into the inn, receiving a few odd looks from townsfolk but she doesn't notice, her attention focused on the innkeeper.

"Excuse me, sir? Would it be possible to rent a room for the night?" Naomi sweetly asks.

"Sure…umm is she ok?" The innkeeper asks gesturing to Lilith.

"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs a night's rest, that's all."

Taking the key he hands her, Naomi walks up the stairs. She goes down a hallway, reading the numbers on the doors until she reaches theirs'. Naomi opens the door, shutting it behind her, locking it and lays Lilith down on a bed.

Lilith wakes up a few hours later, head throbbing and her back aching. Sitting up, she clutches her head, a shrill ringing in her ears causing her to emit a cry of pain and confusion.

Hearing her cry out, Naomi struts over to her and places a hand on her forehead, "Lilith, you're burning up! Where does it hurt?"

"In my head and back and my ears are ringing!"

Naomi sits down next to her and pulls her close, stroking her hair, "There there…it'll be alright…"

Soothed by Naomi for a few hours, Lilith starts to feel better, walking over to the mirror to fix her hair which had become quite unruly during her fit. Brushing out her hair, Lilith catches a glimpse of her face in the mirror, emitting a gasp upon what she sees; her irises are red!

"Naomi!" Lilith cries out, panic present in her voice.

"Yes Lilith?" Naomi asks, walking over to her companion.

"My eyes…they're red!"

Naomi looks into Lilith's eyes and a shocked expression splashes across her face, something she was not expecting.

"Lilith we must get you out of here before anyone else sees this," Naomi says packing their stuff up quickly and rushing Lilith and herself out of the hotel.

The girls mount their horses and ride off, the sun slowly starting to rise. They see smoke in the distance and hear people screaming. Upon arriving in town, they see a knight in azure armor slaughtering the people.

"Naomi my back's throbbing again!"

"We don't have time to worry about that. The Azure Knight is right over there!"

Seeing the two girls, the Azure Knight slowly walks towards them, swinging his Zweihänder at them as they jump off of their horses. Their horses run away, in a panic.

A battle ensues between the two women and the Azure Knight. Nightmare raises his sword high in the air with every intention of hitting Lilith but Naomi jumps in front of Lilith just in time, blocking the blow. It almost seemed impossible for Naomi to get there in time, as if she was expecting Nightmare to do that or Nightmare was deliberately taking his time. Suddenly laughter is heard reverberating through the Azure Armor.

"You will be a nice host!" He growls, grabbing Naomi and running off with her.

"Naomi!" Lilith screams, running after him.

Lilith maintains a steady running pace, not too far behind the Azure Knight, gaining on him as they exit the town.

Raphael's POV

I am leaving Romania. I need to atone for my sins before I can go back to Amy. During the time I was infected by Soul Edge's evil energy, I spread my sickness to many others and slaughtered many as well. I left on another journey to destroy the Holy Stone but was unsuccessful. I was defeated by Siegfried Schtauffen who was on his own quest of redemption. He spared me, again, and I headed back to Walachia. That's when I enter my castle and found Amy cured of the infection. I was then knocked unconscious and when I woke I was cured of my infection as well. A man named Kilik had cured me. Reflecting on my actions, I decided that I was not a suitable father for Amy at the moment. Much to her dismay, I left her in the care of Kilik and headed out.

No destination planned, I walk along the countryside of Romania. I start to sense an evil energy…It can't be Soul Edge…can it? As I get closer I see something I would never have imagined seeing in years. It's the Azure Knight, Nightmare, and he is carrying a woman with red hair over his shoulder, running from another woman with wavy golden hair. The two women are dressed the same except for the fact that the redhead is dressed in a slightly more promiscuous fashion. They must be traveling together and the Azure Knight must be trying to kidnap this one for whatever reason.

Maybe this is my chance to gain redemption. Unsheathing my rapier, I step out in front of the running Azure Knight. He stops and puts the girl down. The girl immediately springs up, unsheathing a Chinese Blade. The other girl catches up, unsheathing her Katana.

"You dare to stand in my way?" Nightmare roars, bringing his blade down at me.

I quickly put my rapier up in front of me to block the blow but get knocked back far away from the force of the blow. When I look up I see the two women on either side of the Azure Knight. He swings his sword at them, the golden haired one jumping to avoid it but it makes impact with the other. She crumples to the ground, clutching her stomach, a big gaping wound present, blood already seeping through her hands.

"NAOMI!" The golden haired girl cries, rushing over to her friend but as soon as she reaches her, she is knocked back by the Azure Knight, a large wound in her shoulder.

I run to the scene, hoping I can get there before he slays the two girls.

Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, the Azure Knights turns away from the battle, beginning to hurry out of the area. As soon as I ready myself to give chase, I am stopped by the cry of a young girl.

"Sir! Help! Please! Help me!" The golden haired young woman is waving her arms frantically, trying to get my attention.

I know that to atone for my sins defeating Nightmare will help but what will bring more aid is helping people, saving lives.

I look at the blood spurting out of the wounds on the woman's left shoulder and right thigh. If she keeps moving she will die from loss of blood. I run over to her and place my hands on her firmly.

"Stop moving! You will only bleed to death faster!" I say harshly, quickly taking some gauze wrapping from my bag, wrapping them around her arm and thigh.

All the while she is protesting and pointing to her fallen comrade. Her comrade looks worse but I must treat this woman first, she has the higher chance of living right now.

"There your wounds are wrapped up. Do not move," I warn.

"Please…help my partner!" She says scrambling over to her friend's crumpled body.

I sigh, she isn't listening to me. This fool of a girl is going to die if she keeps this up. I don't want my efforts to be wasted so I quickly rush over to the other woman and notice the huge gash in her stomach. If it was just a bit deeper, her organs would be spilling out, not a pleasant visual. There is much blood on the ground around her, indicating that she may already be dead. I listen for signs of breathing and hear not a sound. She hasn't got a pulse either. She's gone.

"I'm sorry…" I turn to the golden haired warrior, "there's nothing I can do."

"What?! She can't be dead…she just can't be!" She cries and lifts the fallen woman's head up, wasting her energy.

"Naomi…just open your eyes! I want to hear your voice again…" Tears are forming in her red eyes…wait…RED eyes?

There is something wrong with this woman. Perhaps she has been infected with Soul Edge. I decide to leave her be for the moment but stay at her side. She could easily move the wrong way and bleed out. Suddenly I sense movement, tree branches rustling from an unnatural breeze, someone moving swift and fast.

A ninja jumps down out of the tree, landing a few feet away from us. Her long black hair is tied up and she is wearing a dark blue skin tight outfit, similar to the one the golden haired woman is wearing. Slowly, she approaches us.

"You…" she says pointing to the crying girl.

She looks hostile and I am not going to let her attack this young woman. I stand in front of the distraught girl.

"Leave her be. She is grieving," I warn the ninja, if she attacks my efforts to help the golden-haired woman will be in vain.

"Stay out of my way if you don't want her to die as well. Her body is tainted," the ninja says, pushing past me.

I turn to see her lifting the girl's shirt up and cutting her back. A shrill scream echoes throughout the countryside. She better not be killing her and wasting my time!

"You're hurting her!" I exclaim, anger rising in my voice.

"She'll be in a lot more pain if I don't do this," the ninja says removing a fragment of Soul Edge from the woman's back.

That's why her eyes shone red. "Excuse me, but what the hell did you just do to me!" the young woman exclaims, angrily, her small hands clenching into fists.

"You were infected with Soul Edge, didn't you know? Well it's gone now, you're going to recover. I'd explain it to you but I must leave now to purify this fragment," the ninja says, disappearing as quickly as she came.

"Soul Edge?! But why…how?!...agh!"

I look to the girl, noticing she's clearly in more pain than ever, and bandage up her back. She squirms a bit.

"Don't move you'll bleed more," I calmly say, trying to be patient.

As soon as I am done bandaging her she looks back to her fallen comrade, brushing some red strands of hair away from her lifeless face. The girl herself looks to be on the verge of death but still has the strength to weep over her friend's body. She will die soon if I don't get her to a clinic. If I haven't made this clear already, my efforts will be wasted!

"There's no use mourning for the dead! If you must, you can mourn later. You must go to a clinic immediately and get those wounds checked out," I tell her, losing my patience fast.

She looks up at me, face streaked with tears.

"Not without Naomi," she insists, her light voice cracking.

"She's dead and you will be too if we don't leave now."

She stands up, an angry look on her face as she opens her mouth to most likely argue but collapses, too weak to walk. I pick her up bridal style and start walking towards a town I had passed that was not too far back, out of the path of Nightmare. The young woman struggles to get out of my grasp.

"Don't struggle, you will reopen your wounds," I tell her harshly.

I notice she is looking over my shoulder at her friend, too distracted to hear me. I say nothing more and continue walking at as fast a pace possible, her light weight making it easy for me to travel with her in my arms.

End POV

The young woman falls unconscious in Raphael's arms, making Raphael hasten his pace. Making it to the town in record timing, he immediately finds a clinic, taking the unconscious woman there.

Raphael's POV

I enter the clinic, frantically looking around for a doctor. A nurse rushes up to me.

"This girl has been wounded severely she requires medical assistance!" I say with urgency in my voice.

The young nurse nods and runs to get a doctor. Within moments the young woman is in a hospital room being tended to by a doctor and a few nurses. I stand by, watching them treat her when another nurse approaches me.

"This must be hard for you," she says, her voice filled with concern.

I look at her a bit confused before realizing she thinks I have some sort of relationship with the girl.

"She your sister or wife?" The nurse asks, attempting to take my mind off what's going on.

"No…I just met her today. She was being attacked. I went to help her but her attacker took off. Her traveling companion didn't make it…"

"Oh…you are a kind man," she says, "You didn't have to help her. How very noble of you!"

I feel ashamed as she says this to me, if only she knew. I am not a kind man. I never have been one before. I've always had an uncaring and cold demeanor about me. My life has been inexplicably harsh and unfair so I must admit I have become quite bitter. It didn't help that I already had an arrogant attitude to begin with. It's hard to break old ways.

The doctor tells me she is going to live but will require constant watch incase she opens up her old wounds. I can stay for now. It's the least I can do for her. It would be pointless for me to leave her now and have her wounds bleed out, letting her die.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing…except for Raphael…in my dreams…**

**Day 3**

Lilith's POV

The last thing I remember is passing out in the arms of a stranger. He was trying to get me to a clinic because I received deep wounds in my fated battle with the Azure Knight. My Naomi is dead…

I wake when the first rays of sunlight pour in through the window, dancing upon my eyelids. My eyes flutter open and slowly blurred shapes come into focus. I am in a room in a clinic. My clothing is removed and bandages cover my back, my shoulder and my thigh. I have a thin white gown on, provided by the clinic I assume. My clothes are lying neat and folded on the floor next to my bed.

"You're awake," says a voice to the other side of me.

I turn to see the man who must have carried me to the clinic. I say nothing. My heart is still filled with too much grief for me to speak right now, Naomi's death being unbearably hard to cope with. I look out the window from my bed, soothed by the beauty of the morning sky.

"How are your wounds?" He asks.

"Sore…" I answer, keeping my focus on the window, straining to speak.

"Don't worry. You will recover soon," he says, voice soft.

"Did you…bring me here?" I ask, my voice almost a whisper.

"Yes. I didn't think you were going to make it," he confesses.

"You didn't have to save me," I tell him, "but I thank you for your kindness."

"It was nothing…I will stay with you until your wounds heal."

"Thank you…" I say then whisper to myself, "Although I wish I would have just bled to death…"

The stranger hears what I meant to keep to myself, "Don't say that. You're alive. Your friend's not. Don't take for granted what she does not have anymore."

"You don't understand…I loved her…" I say, keeping my face to the window as a few stray tears fall down my cheeks.

"Then live for her," he says, then he changes the subject, "What's your name?"

"Lilith…" I reply, sorrow etched in each syllable, "yours?"

"Raphael."

A nurse enters the room.

"How are you feeling, miss?" She asks me, typical nurse-concern in her voice.

"My wounds still ache but other than that, ok," I tell her.

"Good, just take some of this pain medication when you need it and you will be fine. You are free to check out anytime you'd like."

I nod and thank her as she leaves.

"I need to dress," I say, looking at Raphael.

"Oh…go ahead…" Raphael says, turning around.

I quickly put on my outfit and realize that the rest of my clothes are back in the countryside. I don't have any money with me so I can't buy any new clothing either. At least I have my Katana.

"You can turn around now," I tell Raphael.

I head for the door but then stop, doubling over in pain. I guess my wounds need more time to heal. He rushes to my side, putting his arm around me.

"Not too fast! Take it easy. Does it hurt to walk?" He asks.

"Yes," I say quietly, not wanting to admit it.

"Let me help you," he offers.

"I'm fine," I say, leaving the hospital room.

Searing pain shoots through me and I find myself doubling over again. Raphael links his arm around my waist, being careful not to put pressure on the wound in my back where the fragment of Soul Edge was taken out. I don't even know how it got there and that bothers me but there is too much on my mind to think about this now.

Raphael's POV

I gently help Lilith out of the clinic and to the hotel. She doesn't say much. She reminds me of Amy in a way, silent and sorrowful. But I understand Lilith's pain. She has just lost someone dear to her. We enter the hotel and approach the inn keeper.

"Are there any rooms left?" I ask him.

"Yes there is one left with two beds," he tells me.

I'm sure Lilith will not be happy about sharing a room with me but it will have to do. At least this way I can keep an eye on her and make sure she takes it easy. Judging by her stubborn personality, it seems that she won't. We go up to our room and I help Lilith to a bed. I sit down on the bed next to hers. She doesn't say anything, only looking out the window, blank expression on her face. Finally, after what seems like hours of awkward silence, she speaks.

"Are you going to pursue the Azure Knight?" She asks me.

"Yes." I know where this is going and I don't like it.

"Take me with you," she turns to look at me.

I can see the fire in her eyes…her hazel eyes. I have just noticed their color, quite a lovely shade but what I am I thinking!

I can't let her come with me. It would be too dangerous for her and I have already saved her once. I have to let her down gently although gently isn't my normal approach.

"I'm sorry Lilith but I can't take you with me. This journey is far too dangerous."

"You don't have a choice. You will take me with you. I want to make sure that bastard gets what's coming to him," she says. Quite a stubborn girl!

I let out a sigh. It's not that she'd be a burden to me but she could get hurt. I do not want to be at fault for her death. Then again it is her decision and I don't want to argue with her. Defeated, I comply.

"Alright you may come with me but this is a dangerous journey. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," is her answer. "I live in danger…"

I do not intend to inquire what she means by that. I'll let her rest up. I excuse myself and head towards the pub part of the inn, wondering if anyone else has seen the Azure Knight.

Lilith's POV

I watch Raphael leave, remaining seated on my bed. I'm too sore to move right now and it's rather frustrating. Naomi's dead and there is nothing I can do at the moment to avenge her.

I feel overwhelming grief in my heart. I loved Naomi…but the feelings of attraction I was experiencing earlier seem to have dissipated and I feel nothing but guilt. Had I only thought I loved her in that way? I don't understand my emotions at all. All I know is anguish and a lust for revenge. I am going to make the Azure Knight pay. That's why I nagged that Frenchman who saved me to take me with him. He'll be pursuing the Azure Knight with an unwanted companion but that's too bad for him.

Rain begins to beat down outside and I can see flashes of lightning. It's storming, typical. I slowly rise from my bed and walk, with lots of pain, over to the window. I've always loved watching thunderstorms even when mother used to tell me I'd get struck by lightning. I haven't yet and I intend on watching every second of this thunderstorm. At least it will take my mind off of things.

I watch people below, scurrying to seek shelter like insects do from birds. I can't help but smirk. Getting caught in the rain has never been a problem for me. I love this kind of weather! The only downside is that it could hamper travel. Still, such a lovely sight! I must get closer.

I put my hand on the doorknob leading out to the balcony. Turning the knob gently and shutting the door behind me, I step outside, feeling the rain pelting down on me. Suddenly the wounds don't hurt as much as I am caught up in my own actions. My sorrows don't seem as great as I stare up at the black clouds above me and listen to the booms and crashes of thunder. Everything just seems so trivial at this point in time. So I spin around. Sure my wounds are aching quite a bit but I don't care. I spin again and again. Soon I am twirling about on the balcony as if performing a ballet routine. I open my mouth and begin to sing a song mother taught me.

The notes dance from my mouth to fill the air around me. I finish the song and stand on the edge of the balcony watching the rain come down. Father always said I had the best singing voice in the world next to mother's. I use to sing for entertainment at my parents' many parties. Back then I was cherished, before blood spilled on my sword for the first time, before I knew the meaning of war and felt the loss of a loved one.

I am torn from my thoughts by a rap coming from the other side of the balcony through the window. I turn to see the Frenchman yelling something inaudible from the other side. I can probably guess what he is shouting but I choose to play dumb, cupping a hand to my ear. He opens the door a crack.

"What are you doing?!"

I laugh to myself and answer his question, "I'm enjoying myself!"

"It's storming out there! You could get struck by lightning!" He warns, just like mother.

At this point I am laughing hysterically, doubled over. My wounds are aching but I don't care! Raphael just stares at me in disgust mingled with frustration. Swinging the door open, he walks over to me.

"You are injured and should be inside resting! This is a bad storm! You could get hurt or catch a cold," he scolds me.

I am a bit out of it from the blood loss still and laugh hysterically at his warnings which remind me of mother, "Ohhhh I'm so frightened!"

He sighs irritably and picks me up gently, with much protesting from me and hefts me over his shoulder to take me back into our room. I begin pounding on his back. How dare he do this to me! He has no right to force me back inside!

"WHO SAID YOU COULD TOUCH ME?! PUT ME DOWN!"

We are now in our room and he sets me down on the bed gently. I can tell he is biting his tongue, restraining himself from losing his temper for I had gotten him slightly soaked.

Feeling violated, all I can manage to do is glare at him before storming off into the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind me. I am soaking wet and cold and I have no spare clothes to change into. I strip off my clothes, my undergarments dry enough to wear and wrap a towel around myself. I hold my soaked clothes in my hand and exit the bathroom and place the clothes near the fireplace to dry. I notice out of the corner of my eye, Raphael staring at me like I'm some freako exhibitionist or something. If I'm not mistaken, and to my horror, there is a faint shade of pink blooming on his cheeks. I place my hands on my hips, sighing irritably.

"Well what do you expect? I have no spare clothes with me and I have no money to buy new."

Raphael heaves a sigh, "Well then I suppose I can loan you the money to purchase what you need. Anything's better than you walking around in a towel."

Now I feel a bit insulted. My body's not that bad looking in a towel. I mean of course I have some scars but they're not that ugly. I look at him, not knowing whether to respond gratefully or indignantly.

"Well thank you, wouldn't want to be an eye sore? Right?" I spit out, lying back on my bed.

He says nothing and picks up a book, beginning to leaf through it, feigning interest to avoid the awkwardness. I am too tired to hassle the poor man any longer so I quickly feel myself falling asleep.

Raphael's POV

I went down to the bar part of the inn to see if anyone else had seen the Azure Knight, Nightmare. Unfortunately when I arrived everyone was crazed with drinking. I did not hear anything at all in relation to the Azure Knight, Nightmare, Soul Edge or Soul Calibur. After staying there for a little while I finally realized that it was storming. I decided to head back to the room, knowing I would find nothing at the bar.

When I got there, I saw no sign of Lilith. I immediately thought the worst, she tried committing suicide. I would have wasted my time helping this young girl for nothing! I checked the bathroom for her and did not see her. Then I noticed that the balcony door was not shut all the way. I sighed and looked out the window.

To my surprise Lilith was just standing there, soaked, the rain falling down on her. At first I thought she was going to jump but then I realized she was enjoying herself. The thunder and lightning seemed to be escalating. I began fearing for her life.

With much protest I managed to get her back inside. I am beginning to think she is slightly unstable due to her actions. Then the next thing I know she comes out in nothing but a towel! This was a very awkward moment for me as I have never seen a woman in nothing but a towel. I couldn't help but blush even though it isn't my fault. She told me she had nothing else to wear. Well I'd rather not see her walking around in just a towel so I loaned her the money to buy some new ones, I have plenty.

She gets offended by what I say and suddenly it becomes awkward again. I forgot how annoying women can be. Hoping to avoid her wrath, I picked up a book and pretended to read it.

Now I lay in my bed, trying to get some sleep. Lilith has remained silent for the rest of the night, probably still mad at me. I think she is still awake but it is hard to tell. I silently hope that she does not try to do anything foolish tonight as sleep takes over my mind.

Sleepy time for me now! I will release a few more chapters soon though but I have to get up and sing, choir concert! Vale!


	4. Chapter 4

Roses are red Violets are blue I don't own so please don't sue!

_Thank you __mastersam__ for giving me my first review! However, the Naomi/Nightmare situation is going to make more sense in later chapters. Probably around 15/20ish things will come together…I hope. And you have brought it to my attention that this story is indeed quite choppy. I apologize for that because…umm…I haven't edited this since May…oops! So I will be revising my first few chapters. Here's chapter four, hoping it's a little less choppy, enjoy all!_

**Day 4**

End POV

Sunlight begins to stream in through the windows of the hotel room. The storm passed halfway through the night. Lilith is the first to wake up, feeling remarkably better, and immediately puts her now dried clothing on. Today she will take her mind off of Naomi's death; today she will go into town, today she will partake in one of her favorite activities, shopping. What's even better is that she is using Raphael's money and not her own, not that she has any. While she's freshening up in the bathroom, Raphael wakes up. As soon as she gets out of the bathroom he goes in there.

When they are ready Raphael hands her some money to purchase clothing.

"Thank you," Lilith says as they exit the inn and head into town.

"I take it you're feeling better," Raphael says, noticing Lilith moving without any signs of pain or discomfort.

"I'm still a bit sore but it's not as bad," Lilith says, strolling to the nearest shop, "I don't want to bore you with shopping considering you're a man and all so I'll just go in by myself."

"But you're still recovering…" Raphael murmurs but it was too late she was already in the shop.

Raphael sighs to himself and ends up going into various other shops to seek out supplies for the upcoming journey. Now he had to worry about an extra person and had to buy extra supplies. The man sighs inwardly. This woman is a lot more trouble than she's worth.

Meanwhile Lilith spends much of her time perusing various clothing shops until she finds clothing that is flattering to her figure. Her days of being an assassin over now, she doesn't have to purchase such form-fitting clothing. She can dress a bit more…modestly.

Eventually Lilith buys a few tops, some loose pants and a few shoes and boots. Once she finishes she decides to check out different streets in the town.

In the middle of the town square a small arena is set up with many people gathering around. The signs around it read: "Become rich! You earn money for each win you make! See if you can defeat all five of the Vante Brothers!"

The prospect of earning money demands Lilith's attention. Casually walking over to the man running the tournament, Lilith stands in front of the entrance to the small arena. The man looks her up and down and simply laughs.

"And why are you here, little girl?" He chuckles, thinking she may have come here by mistake.

"I am here," Lilith says, "To accept your challenge."

Simply laughing her while shaking his head, the man says, "You are way too young for this competition. Besides you are a female! Not even a man has completed this challenge successfully. Come back when you're older or you suddenly start sprouting other body organs."

Lilith's eyebrow twitched in irritation as she unsheathes her katana, pointing it at the man's throat.

"You think I'm weak?" She questions through gritted teeth. "Would you like me to show you just how wrong you are?"

The man slowly backs away, waving his hands in front of him, laughing nervously and coughs.

"Umm…right this way, ma'am," he says holding the gate open for her.

Lilith enters the arena, the crowd growing oddly silent. A man steps out into the arena, muscles bulging from about anywhere and everywhere possible on his body, growling at her in an attempt to intimidate her. Rolling her eyes nonchalantly, Lilith sighs and waits for the round to start.

"Do you really think you can beat him little girl? With your skinny arms and little legs?" The director of the tournament taunts her.

Lilith says nothing, scoffing in detest and the round starts.

Three seconds into the match, the man is on his knees, begging for mercy. The crowd watching the fight erupts in cheers. During those three seconds, Lilith moved so fast it was hard to even keep track of her. Even though she only inflicted two wounds those wounds were enough to bring that man to tears.

The judge declares Lilith the winner for that round and for the next, as well as the remaining three. The men were not as tough as they appeared but most inhabitants of the town are not trained warriors. During all five rounds Lilith barely breaks a sweat. She collects her prize money, nonchalantly walking off to find Raphael.

She spots him a few streets down from where her brief battles took place and waves him over.

"I can pay you back now," she states simply, placing the amount of money he lent her in his hand plus a bit more, "with interest," she casually adds.

Not only does she have that but Lilith also has plenty more where that came from. Raphael eyes her oddly, suspicious of where that money came from.

"Where did you get that money?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I earned it," she says, shrugging her shoulders while cracking her neck.

"How? You didn't…" He looks over to where a few women in rather revealing clothing stand, whistling to passersby, "…do…that? Did you?"

Resisting the urge to slap him across the face or even worse actually rip his face off, Lilith just places her hands on her hips, faking a pout.

"Of course not! What do you take me for…a whore…a cur…a concubine?!" Lilith exclaims throwing her hands up in the air, "Did you see the arena in town square?"

"Yes…no…you didn't! You're recovering! You could have reopened your wounds!" He scolds her.

Once again shrugging while stretching her arms in the air, Lilith sighs in exasperation, "But I didn't. I didn't even break a sweat. Those men were quite overrated. Besides I got us enough money to last well into our trip!"

Raphael sighs inwardly, thinking her quite a handful. _Maybe I should have just let her die…no! Don't think that way!_ Disgusted by those momentary thoughts, the Frenchman curses himself silently.

"I have to have some way to vent my anger too…How else am I suppose to cope with Naomi's death?" Lilith states, growing silent as the last two words leave her perfectly shaped lips. She turns away from him, sorrow filling her hazel eyes.

"Just don't do anything too strenuous? Alright?" He asks, silent pondering if she really is worth helping, the difficult woman that she is.

"Yeah. Ok." The young woman said dismissively, "I'm feeling fine, great, rejuvenated! I say we leave that crummy inn tomorrow!"

"And just how exactly do you plan on doing that when we don't have any leads on Nightmare. Do you expect us to just follow some blind path, hoping that we'll run into him?" Raphael states scathingly.

"Sooooooooooo what?! Why don't we just move towards the direction we last saw that damned Azure Knight headed towards?" Lilith questions, blind rage towards Nightmare turning her normal level-headed thought process into slightly reckless ideas.

"If no other leads present themselves tomorrow…I suppose we can but let me inform you that you are making quite a reckless decision…" Raphael says in defeat.

Raphael begins to feel annoyed, angry at the fact that he was letting this girl run the show, never letting anyone have this much control before. Fighting the urges within that tell him to argue with her and say something insulting, he heads back to the inn, following closely behind the troublesome little woman.

Perhaps he kept his patience with her because she gave him something he thought he wouldn't feel for a while, hope. Raphael just might be able to redeem himself a bit if he could help her by allowing her to join him on his journey to stop Nightmare.

They enter the inn and to Lilith's surprise the Vante brothers were in the lobby. Upon seeing Lilith they look to one another sheepishly, crimson filling their cheeks. The younger one slowly approaches her, head bowed down.

"You were amazing in the arena. Do you have any pointers you could give us?" He asks, nervously scuffing his foot on the polished lobby floor.

Lilith ponders his question for a moment, reflecting on her fight with them before responding, "Your strength is good the few hits you landed on me left me sore. You just need to become more agile."

"Thanks…" He says seeming to stare at her in awe, "How did you become that strong?"

"Army training," she replies simply as heads up to her room at the inn, Raphael following her.

For some reason he couldn't picture her as a soldier. Maybe it was how youthful and small she appeared.

"Lilith?"

"Yes?"

"You were in the army?"

"Yes I joined my hometown's defense troops when I was fourteen," she states simply, "But of course I knew how to fight well before then. I was self-trained though…"

"Lilith, how old are you? You seem very young…"

"I'm eighteen."

"So Naomi was a fellow soldier then?" Raphael asks, just wanting to find out a bit more information about the woman that would be traveling with him.

Lilith's quiet chuckle caught him off guard. He gave her a quizzical look.

"No…of course not, do you really think our attire is that of a soldier's? When I was fifteen, the troop I belonged to was attacked by the most unearthly creatures out there. We could not hold our own and most of us were massacred. The remaining soldiers of the troop were too ashamed to go home and committed suicide. I didn't. I knew we wouldn't have a chance against those…monsters… So I left. I had nowhere to go and had nothing but a little bit of money on me. There weren't many jobs out there for me so I began to work illegally. Assassins were in high demand in the areas I was residing in so I became a free lance assassin. Don't think of me as an awful person though. I only killed those who endangered others; murderers, rapists, abusers; they were the only ones on my list. A little while after I started my career I met Naomi, another assassin, we worked together ever since…"

"That's quite a history…" Raphael says casually.

"Yes it is. I've been so kind as to tell you a bit about myself. Now how about you return the favor?" She asks sitting down on her bed, Indian style.

"I have a foster daughter named Amy. She hid me from the people of my town. They were out to kill me for the murder of an insane noble. That noble was a friend of my family's. They even aided my pursuers with the hopes of my death. She was the first person to show me kindness. I feel I owe her my life. I just…took it too far…I wanted to make the world safe for her so I set out to acquire Soul Edge so no nobles would obtain it. I failed and was nearly killed. I became infected by the evil sword and Amy tried to treat me and became infected as well. We were no longer human… The world would not accept Amy so I began to formulate plans to give her her own world. I nearly lost myself in the process. We moved to Walachia and soon soldiers began attacking us because I had spread the "plague". I defeated most of the soldiers and set out to destroy the Holy Stones that could cure the plague. I failed at that too…Upon coming home I found Amy back to her normal self. A man named Kilik was with her. Before I could do anything he whipped out a stone and held it up to me. Within minutes the infection was lifted from me. That's when I decided that I was not a suitable parent for Amy for the time being. I needed to redeem myself for all those I killed during my madness. Once I feel redeemed…I will return to her…Until then she is in the care of Kilik."

Lilith listens to his story intently. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, unable to fully blame him for what he did. Then Lilith did something that she thought she couldn't do since Naomi died, she smiled, a small smile but a smile nonetheless.

"You seem to have quite a history yourself. But…you are a good person, you just went down the wrong path. And I think you're on the road to redemption," with that being said Lilith rose from sitting on her bed and headed out to the balcony.

Raphael just sat there for a moment. She thought he was a good person…well maybe she should…he did save her life after all. Raphael took out a notebook and pen and began to write an account of what happened during the day. He began keeping one so that when he is finally reunited with Amy, he can tell her of his journeys.

Lilith's POV

I went out to the balcony, breathing the cool night air into my lungs. I always feel refreshed at this time of the day. Everything seems so peaceful, not many people out here when the sun goes down. That makes it quiet, the way I like things, giving me more time to think to myself. Sitting on the edge of the balcony, I dangle my legs over the side, pondering about everything that has taken place in my life so far. My thoughts mainly consisting of Naomi and how I miss her but also, strangely enough, how I do not feel in love with her anymore.

It scares me to think how easily I fell in and out of love. Something was not quite right a few days ago. Perhaps it was just a passing infatuation. Then I wonder if Naomi really did love me. We were only together for one night, nothing sexual occurred, just kissing and caressing. I couldn't tell if the look in her eyes was true love or just lust and it worries me that I doubt myself. How could I just stop loving her?

I also think about that piece of Soul Edge the ninja pulled from my back. How had it got in there? Surely I would have noticed if someone put that in me. Then again when, would they get the chance? The only person I was with before my eyes started to shine red was…Naomi. There is no way she would ever do something like that…I hope.

Deciding to call it a night, I head back into our room. Raphael is sitting on his bed writing in what I think is a journal. I think it's best not to disturb him so I go straight to bed.

But I cannot sleep. My mind is wandering here and there, crossing over many different thoughts that plague me. I keep my eyes shut, hoping that in a few hours, I will be able to get some much needed rest.

Raphael's POV

I finish writing my journal entry and tuck the journal and pen away. I am still in a bit of shock over the last thing Lilith said to me…I'm…a good person? I simply can't believe that. I've killed so many innocent people it astounds me. If I wasn't cured when I was I could have became the next Nightmare. But Lilith's words…they make me feel like I am on the road to redemption and I intend to stay on it.

I miss Amy. She means the world to me, my beloved foster daughter. No not my foster daughter…I want her to just be my…daughter. I just want her to call me, "Father". I want to have a family again, one that will love me. I just hope that Amy can love me when I return to her. If she can forgive me for my actions, that is.

I look over to Lilith who is now sound asleep. She gives me hope. Part of my redemption lies within helping this young woman. I am lucky to have this opportunity. Shutting of my lamp and lying down on my bed I will try and get some sleep tonight although I have a feeling I will not. I never sleep. There's just too much on my mind.

* * *

Two more days until I come home for Thanksgiving! Review if you want! 


	5. Chapter 5

_I own nothing but my troubles! I hope you enjoy this chapter. This is where most of the other main characters are introduced. __Another__ thanks to __mastersam__ for a second review! Now on with Chapter 5!_

**Day 5**

No POV

Lilith finds Raphael tossing and turning in his bed, crying out in his sleep. Hesitating briefly, Lilith moves over to the side of his bed, leaning down and gently putting her hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

"Raphael?" She asks softly, trying to get him to wake up.

It doesn't work so she lightly shakes him again, calmly saying his name.

Raphael's eyes open and he sits up, panting and shaking. Lilith keeps her hand on his shoulder, a look of concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asks gently.

He doesn't reply for a moment, catching his breath. He then turns to look at her, the girl's appearance seeming to dramatically change into something less intimidating than the night before. She appears very young and pure almost like an older version of Amy.

"Raphael?"

He snaps out of it and answers her, "Yes…I'm fine…thank you…" He says, slowly getting up to change.

After packing up their belongings the two exit the inn and continue on their journey. They have no leads as to where the Azure Knight, Nightmare, is so they decide to head towards the direction he was last seen moving in, despite the protests from Raphael that they should stay in town to find more leads. Before setting out, they decide to grab just a few more supplies from various shops in the town.

While shopping Lilith feels a tug at her pants. Lilith instantly turns towards where she felt the tug, seeing no one but Raphael. She immediately shoots him a death glare, shocked that he would do that to her. Raphael's only reply is but a look annoyance and confusion.

"What?" He says annoyed, eyebrows furrowing.

"You know what," Lilith retorts haughtily.

Suddenly realization dawns on Lilith as she feels for her gold. It wasn't there. She then looks around frantically, hoping that she just dropped it. Then something catches her eye: someone hurrying out of the store. Immediately giving chase, Lilith plows through the unsuspecting customers, receiving many insults and vulgarities. Raphael watches her with confusion before realizing he'll lose her in this crowd if he doesn't follow her, also receiving insults and vulgarities as he too pushes through the crowd.

Lilith pursues the person through many streets in the town, Raphael close behind. Eventually the person makes a wrong turn and gets stuck at a dead end, turning around to face their pursuer.

Lilith stood their hands on her hips, glaring angrily at the person, whose hood fell back, revealing a young brunette man in his early twenties. He looks rather scared of Lilith and backs up against his brick wall prison, becoming even more frightened when Raphael catches up.

"Lilith what's going on?" Raphael asks out of confusion.

"How about I let you explain," Lilith says addressing the young man who was now quivering in fear.

"Here take it!" He says throwing the pouch of gold at Lilith, flattening himself against the wall.

Keeping her eye on him, Lilith cautiously picks up her pouch of gold, checking to make sure it's all there.

"I should teach you a lesson. After all, stealing is a crime punishable by death," Lilith warns walking closer to him, "but in this case I'll let you go with a warning. Let's go Raphael."

Raphael nods to her and they start to walk away.

"Wait! Don't leave me here! I'm all alone and I have no money!" The young man says chasing after them.

"You just stole from Lilith, why do you think we would care?" Raphael asks coolly.

"I'm desperate! Please! I'll make up for what I've done if you just give me some food!" He begs.

Raphael and Lilith continue in silence, trying their best to ignore the stranger's pleas. Raphael looks to Lilith.

"So do you think we should try to find any more leads on the Azure Knight before we leave?" He asks her.

"I think it would be a waste of time considering we left our room at the inn and we should get to the next town before night falls," Lilith replies.

A voice behind them pipes up, "Wait up! I know where the Azure Knight was last seen!"

Lilith and Raphael watch as the brunette man approaches them.

"He was last seen at a town neighboring this one. I could show you where it's at. I know the way. All you have to do is help me out a bit," he says.

"We can find the town without _your_ help," Raphael replies.

"Please…just let me do this! I have to make it up to you," the man says.

"Absolutely not," is Raphael's answer.

The man looks to Lilith, "Please miss? I won't try to steal from you again."

Lilith shakes her head. In return the man throws himself down on his knees and grabs her hands, groveling, Lilith immediately jerks away from him.

"Please miss! I swear I won't be a burden…you're my only hope," he says.

Lilith sighs and looks to Raphael who is mouthing the word, "no" and says, "Alright but if you try to steal from me again I will cut your fingers off."

The young man nods meekly and the three of them head out, much to Raphael's dismay. Raphael is not one to agree with the philosophy, "the more the merrier". The man remains quiet as they head out but finding the silence awkward, he decides to speak up. He remembers them calling each other by their names, "So your names are Lilith and Raphael right?"

Lilith nods to him, her face remaining emotionless for the most part. The man smiles at them brightly.

"It's nice to meet you two…I just wish we could have meant under better circumstances. My name's Edmund," he says.

They walk on in silence for a few more moments before it is once again interrupted by the curious and slightly uncomfortable Edmund.

"So are you two lovers? Are you married? Or are you related…perhaps brother and sister? Well…maybe uncle and niece…Raphael you do look older than Lilith."

"We are not lovers, neither married related. We are two warriors traveling together for the same purpose, destroying Nightmare," Raphael says coolly although there is a slightly agitated tone in his voice.

"Oh…" Edmund says quietly as they reach the town.

The sight that greeted the three was what Lilith and Raphael were expecting but what Edmund, however, was not. The town was scoured and bodies lay up and down the streets. There were few survivors of the town, kneeling in the streets weeping and praying. Upon seeing this, Edmund grew pale. Lilith approaches one of the grieving townspeople, hoping to find a lead.

"Excuse me, sir was this work of the Azure Knight?" She asks gently.

"Yes…he came during the darkness last night and killed everyone in his path…women…children…no one was spared unless he somehow managed to miss you," the man says with shaky breath, "My wife…my children…"

"I'm sorry for your loss but we must be moving on. I will avenge your slain spouse and children," Lilith says before rejoining the two men.

She notices the pale complexion on Edmund's face, "Are you ok?"

Edmund slowly nods his head and the three go further into the town. They reach a church that isn't completely collapsed. The three of them enter, Lilith and Raphael wanting to see if they can find out any more information from any of the survivors. Lilith spots the woman that had pulled the fragment of Soul Edge from her back sitting in one of the pews with a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties of Asian ancestry as well. Lilith slowly approaches them.

"You're…the woman who removed that fragment of Soul Edge from my back," she states.

"Yes I am."

"Do you have any idea how it got there?"

"I'm sorry but I don't know. What I can tell you is this, it appeared to have only been placed in there for about a day…maybe two and after I took it out of you I purified it. Now let me ask you this, what brings you to this town?" She asks.

"Well…Raphael and I are on the pursuit of the Azure Knight…we want to destroy him and that wicked sword," she says.

"Then it appears you are the same journey as Tsubaki and I," the ninja warrior replies.

"I'm going to kill that bastard for what he did to those children at the orphanage!" Tsubaki says, clenching her fists.

Raphael approaches Lilith, "I've got news that the Azure Knight's headed towards the coast. He's begun to get an army of demonic followers as well."

"Followers?" Lilith asks, clearly upset.

"Yes…quite a few," he replies.

"We can't do this alone…" Lilith says looking over to the ninja and her companion.

The ninja nods her head and shakes Lilith's hand with unspoken understanding, "I'm Taki."

"Lilith," she replies.

"There's another that's traveling with Tsubaki and I. His name's Mitsurugi. He's a very strong Ronin. The only reason he decided to join us was for a chance to test his skills against the Azure Knight and similar enemies. At one point…well several points, he was after Soul Edge. I eventually convinced him to give up his search. Here he is now," Taki says as a man approaches their group.

Also approaching the group is the ever pale Edmund. He taps Lilith's shoulder lightly.

"Umm…Lilith?"

"Yes?"

"There's something I need to tell you…I just made up a story about the Azure Knight attacking this town. I didn't know…I really didn't…I'm sorry…" He says bowing his head.

"I know…" Lilith says her words trailing off.

"But how?"

"Your reaction to the carnage, you were as pale as a ghost."

Edmund sighs heavily and stares at the ground guiltily. Not only has he tried to steal from Lilith but now he has deceived her as well. He was slowly becoming disgusted with himself. It was true that these actions needed to be taken in order for him to survive but perhaps there were other ways, _honest ways_.

"I'm coming with you," he says.

"What?" Lilith asks, disbelieving him.

"I'm coming with you. I am no one…I have no money, no town to go back to and I have become a person I do not want to be. I will redeem myself by aiding all of you in your journey," Edmund tells the group.

Of course there are no objections. With the threat of the Azure Knight's sudden army rising up they could use all the help they could get. Well there is a silent objection from Raphael who really doesn't want any more people joining them but he does not speak up.

"Now all we need is a better mode of transportation…" Taki says looking around the scorched town.

"Horses?"

"Wagons?"

"Well we might as well look to see if this town has anything," Mitsurugi suggests, others nodding in agreement.

The group walks around the town for a few minutes before finding some horses and a few wagons. Leaning on one of the wagons is a young man in his mid-twenties with black hair and icy blue eyes. They assume he is the owner of the horses and wagons.

"Excuse me sir?" Taki asks approaching the man, who raises his eyebrow in response, "Are your horses and wagons for sale?"

"Oh…these aren't mine," he says shrugging, "I don't really know whose they are but I'm assuming the owner must have perished. Feel free to take some. However my step-sister Adele and I need two horses for our journey. You don't happen to know the whereabouts of the Azure Knight do you?"

"You are looking for the Azure Knight as well?" Tsubaki asks.

"Well yes he ransacked our homeland. Where is Adele? She should be back by now…" the young man says looking worried.

"We can help you look for her," Edmund offers.

Raphael looks none too thrilled about this whole ordeal. He did not want Lilith accompanying him let alone all these other, preferring to travel alone. Sighing, he decides he should just suck it up. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from these people.

"Alright, Tsubaki, Mitsurugi and myself will look in town. You will stay here and wait incase she comes back. Raphael, Edmund and Lilith will search the fields nearby…wait…where's Lilith?" Taki says suddenly noticing the missing member of their group.

The rest of the group begins looking around.

"Well it looks like there are two people missing," Mitsurugi says irritably.

"Well let's just stay in the same groups," Taki suggests then she turns to the man, "By the way what's your name?"

"Kain…" He answers in whisper.

The groups set out to find the missing girls, Raphael and Edmund barely speaking as they search the fields outside of the town. Suddenly a feminine shriek pierces the air. Both men take off running towards the scream. A young woman with long light brown hair is cowering in fear as Lilith is lifted up in the air by the neck, a rather large looking figure choking her. Dropping her katana, Lilith starts clawing at the figure's hand around her neck and gasps for air.

Raphael wastes no time jumping into action and points is rapier at the figure's neck, "Put her down if you don't want to die."

The figure turns its head to look at Raphael and to his disgust the face is not that of a human but more of a demon. In Raphael's bewilderment he is backhanded, getting knocked backwards by the demon's free arm. Edmund rushes to his side, helping him up.

"Let her go! It's me you want!" The other girl says waving her Zanbatou at the monster threateningly.

Raphael takes this opportunity to surprise the monster from behind, piercing his rapier into the back of its skull. The monster emits an unearthly howl and drops Lilith to the ground. Lilith takes in as much air as possible into her lungs, simultaneously picking up her katana. She turns her attention to the woman in her early twenties and Raphael who are now in battle with the monster. Edmund hurries over to her.

"Lilith, are you ok?" He asks

"I am fine but those two need our help! Can you fight?"

"I think so!" Edmund says taking out a short sword.

The two run to join them in battle, the demon clearly having the upper hand. It brings down a huge fists, connecting with the other woman's stomach. She crumples to the ground in front of it, Edmund catching the girl.

"Edmund get her out of here!" Lilith orders.

Edmund nods and stays back from the battle, standing by in case he is needed. Raphael stabs at where he thinks the demon's heart is, the demon howling out in pain. Lilith approaches the demon from the side and slashes her katana at its abdomen, hoping that it will give up and leave them be. Turning to Lilith, the demon brings its hand back, long sharp claws coming out of its fingers. Horror flashes across Lilith's face at this new revelation. It takes a swipe at her with its claws, Lilith's eyes growing wide. The demon has an open shot at her. Just as the claws are about to make impact with her, something strange happens; blinding bright light shoots out from what appears to be Lilith, turning the demon to ash. Raphael looks at Lilith who shakily puts her katana away whispering, "no…not now…"

"Lilith? What was…" Raphael begins to say before Lilith cuts in.

"I…" The young woman starts to fall forward.

Raphael catches her in his arms and picks her up bridal style. Seeing no demon, Edmund runs over carrying the other woman in his arms. He looks to Raphael and to the unconscious Lilith.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I…don't know…" Raphael says turning from him and starting to walk back towards the town.

Upon reaching the town, Kain immediately approaches Edmund and takes the girl from his arms.

"You found Adele!" He says with relief holding his step-sister close to him. "Thank you…"

The two men nod slowly, Raphael keeping Lilith in his arms, looking at her with what appears to be concern, slightly uncharacteristic of him. Taki, Mitsurugi and Tsubaki see them and rejoin the group.

"So…you found them?" Taki asks.

Raphael nods and motions to the unconscious woman in his arms and the other woman in Kain's arms who is just beginning to awaken.

"Kain!" She exclaims hugging her step-brother.

"Adele what happened?"

"Well I left town briefly to search for some more survivors but when I did I was attacked by…something not of this world…It was something of hell…a demon…"

"So Nightmare really does have a gathering of unearthly soldiers…the rumors are true…" Taki says.

"Adele…these people they are on the same journey as us. I don't think we can do this alone…" Kain whispers to her.

Adele nods slowly in agreement. Much to Raphael's dismay their group became even larger but most of his attention still focuses on the unconscious Lilith.

"Is she going to be alright?" Adele asks.

"I think so," Raphael says. "She's breathing and she has a pulse."

The group decides to take the wagons and the horses. The first wagon seats Kain, Adele, Tsubaki and Mitsurugi who is driving it. The second consists of Raphael, Lilith, Edmund and Taki driving it. Taki and Mitsurugi playfully race each other while everyone else sleeps. However Raphael is not sleeping, his eyes are fixed on Lilith who he is still holding.

"What did you do Lilith?" He murmurs to himself as Lilith begins to stir.

"Lilith?"

Lilith opens her eyes slowly to find Raphael staring down at her. She sits up, on his lap and immediately gets off of him, scooting farther away from him.

"Lilith what was that thing that you did?" He asks her quietly.

She immediately remembers the last thing that happened before she passed out, immediately shushing Raphael, earning an irritated look from the Frenchman.

"If you're traveling with us I want some answers. For all I know you could be in collaboration with Nightmare," he says sternly.

"Please Raphael, keep your voice down if you want to know anything," Lilith whispers, scooting closer to him, anxiety fills her voice.

"I…" She looks to the floor of the wagon.

"I am not completely human…" She whispers.

"So you're a demon then?" He asks narrowing his eyebrows.

"No…I'm…half nymph…My mother is a nymph of light. My father is a human…He doesn't know…You are the only one who knows of my secret…Please…just keep quiet about it…" She pleads with him.

Raphael studies her for a moment. He had heard tales of nymphs in mythology and fables. He never expected them to be real but if demons were real then nymphs could be real too. Raphael snaps out of reality by another plea from Lilith.

"I'm begging you…don't tell anyone…" She whispers.

"I won't Lilith…" he whispers back.

"Will you two keep it down I'm trying to sleep!" Edmund grumbles.

"We're barely whispering…It's not like we can hear each other over your damn snoring!" Raphael snaps angrily at Edmund.

Edmund scoots farther away from them, trying once again to get some sleep.

"You should sleep," Lilith suggests to Raphael upon seeing his eyes slightly bloodshot.

Raphael nods in response and lies down on the floor. Lilith scoots to the front of the wagon where Taki is steering the horses.

"Need a break?" She offers.

"Can you steer?" Taki asks.

"Yes," Lilith replies taking Taki's position.

Lilith's POV

I cannot believe I just told Raphael my deepest secret. Well it's not like I had a choice. I hope I can trust him. Well he has taken care of me in my time of weakness but I don't know what would happen if the others found out about what I am. If the wrong person finds out…I very well could die.

The legend is that if you take the virginity of someone with nymph's blood you will gain immortality to aging the same goes if you drink their blood or take their life. Anyone with nymph's blood in them…will be immortal. That means that I am too. It would explain why I still look like a teenager even though I am eighteen. Nymphs age slowly and we stop aging when we hit our twenties, remaining forever youthful. If someone were to become immortal from a nymph they would stop aging if they are past their twenties if under, they would stop aging at the same time as us.

That's why I could die. I could be raped or murdered. There are many people in this world willing to bring harm to my kind just for the sake of immortality.

I look over to the neighboring carriage and notice Kain driving it, wondering if he switched with someone throughout the night. I shout over to Kain.

"Where are we going?"

"To the next town, it's by the shore!" He replies.

We ride on in silence, keeping quiet so everyone else can sleep. I think back to the times when I was younger. Most people would reflect fondly on their childhood. However I can't reflect fondly on my life past the age of ten. I was an oddball. All throughout school I was the one staring out the window daydreaming of a better life. My parents were wealthy enough but it wasn't the life I wanted. I wanted adventure, to make a name for myself. When the teacher called on me of course I did not know the answer. My classmates would erupt in laughter, sometimes even throwing things at me if I was really out of it.

When we had our break times I wouldn't socialize with anyone. Instead I would enjoy the nature around me. I'd be under a tree reading or lying on my back watching the clouds roll by. Nature is much more comforting to me than companionship anyways.

War broke out with our nation and a neighboring nation when I was fourteen. Of course I was the only one at school willing to enlist in the army. It was my chance to break away. My parents disapproved, wanting me to finish my education first but of course I disobeyed. I became the baby of the army and the older soldiers seemed to take care of me. For once in my life I felt accepted. Now…they're all dead and I can't return home.

I remember Jed looking up at me with his sword ready to plunge into his stomach. His last words to me were, "Lilith…I want you to get out of here…You're too young for this. Don't throw away your life like we are…Just run away and never look back. If you go home you will be frowned upon for not committing suicide. Start a new journey. Find a new purpose in life. Find a lover and get married. Have lots of children. Now go!"

"But Jed you don't have to do this either!" I protested, tears starting to form in my eyes.

"Yes I do Lilith. It's too humiliating for me to not. It's an unwritten rule of knighthood. Besides I'm 28, an old man. My time's up. Now go Lilith please!"

Tears began to form in my eyes now just remembering that day. Jed wasn't old! He didn't need to die but it was what he wanted. He was like my older brother and he was going to kill himself. Hugging Jed one last time, I ran as fast as my feet could carry me. I didn't look back.

"Jed…" I murmur his name to myself softly, looking up at the sky, which has started to rise. Sunrises are so beautiful…Jed will never see them again.

"Who's Jed?" I hear a voice from behind me ask.

* * *

Ughhhh...I have to get up in less than seven hours...I hate MWF classes. Goodnight all! 


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing except for my avocado allergy!**

Another thank you to mastersam for another review

* * *

**Day 6**

Raphael's POV

I open my eyes as the sun starts to rise. Lilith must have switched spots with Taki since I find Taki sleeping in the wagon along with Edmund who is also still sleeping. Not wanting to acknowledge these new traveling companions, (If I ignore them maybe they'll disappear!) I decide to go check on Lilith.

I don't tend to care about people. I mean there's Amy but other than that I hate most of society. Then Lilith came along. For some reason I can't loathe her like I loathe the rest of them. I guess it's because I've invested so much time into helping her. But now that I know she's a nymph, I feel even more inclined to take care of her. Just the fact that she trusts me enough to tell me that…well she didn't have much of a choice. I just don't understand why she needs to keep it a secret. I thought nymphs were supposed to be special magical creatures. Wouldn't she be proud of that?

Slowly, I make my way to the front of the wagon where Lilith sits. She is silent and her stillness suggests she is deep in thought. I hear her soft voice whisper a name as she tilts her head upwards, "Jed."

I wonder who this is. Normally I wouldn't care but the way she said his name, with so much sorrow in her voice, makes me wonder.

"Who's Jed?" I ask.

Lilith jumps up, startled for a second before turning to give me a brief glance.

"He's no one! He's dead!" She snaps, looking back to the path.

I've never heard her so angry before. The way she just spoke to me doesn't sit well. I take a seat next to her as she scoots away from me. I can sense her irritation.

"Sorry for asking," I say, sarcasm dripping in each of my words.

Lilith says nothing, keeping her eyes on the road. We sit in silence for a few moments before she speaks up.

"He was a soldier in the army with me. He was like my older brother…Jed was the one who told me to live and run away. He killed himself…" Her voice is so soft like a light breeze.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Maybe I shouldn't have pressed her to tell me.

No POV

The group soon reaches a small stream, the wagons coming to a stop due to the many protests of the females in the wagon Kain was driving. The girls want to clean up. Everyone gets out of the wagons and heads towards the stream, the girls chatting happily amongst themselves except for Lilith, who trails behind as the other three take the lead. Taki looks back at her for a moment before turning her attention to other, more talkative ones.

Meanwhile the guys, due to death threats by the women, have to go farther upstream. Edmund challenges Kain to a race, the two of them running as fast as they can. Mitsurugi and Raphael sigh as the younger men run off.

The warriors wash up, the girls remarkably chipper. Raphael is heading back towards the wagon when he is stopped by Taki. He raises an eyebrow in irritation, not wanting to acknowledge her.

"So you decided to stay with her?" Taki asks.

"Yes," he says. "It's part of my redemption."

"So helping her and killing Nightmare will redeem you?"

"I don't know…" Raphael says, hopping onto the wagon.

Lilith is sitting at the back of the wagon, her legs dangling out of the side, staring off into space like usual. Edmund is sitting at the front of the wagon, holding the reins to the horses. Once Taki gets on the wagon, they head to the nearest town.

They reach the town by mid-day, surprised to see that it has not been destroyed as it was in the direct path of Nightmare. But what surprises them even more is the eerie quietness of the town's citizens. Adele and Tsubaki look around and whisper things amongst themselves such as, "plague" and "massacre". Finally Mitsurugi decides to find out what is going on.

He jumps down from the wagon, approaching a few of the townspeople. They look at him and turn their backs to him. Mitsurugi stares at them indignantly and turns them around to face him, not being one to take the hint that they do not want to be bothered. The townspeople look up at him, fear in their eyes.

"Why are you cowering? It's not like I'm going to hurt you…Can you please tell what exactly is going on?" He asks warily.

"The…Azure Knight passed through! He went to our harbor and slaughtered an entire ship and took it for himself and his horde of monsters! He sails to a distant land overseas now but we're sure he'll be back!" One of the townspeople says, fear in their voice.

Mitsurugi walks back to the rest of the group, telling them what has happened. Everyone is silent for a moment before Kain speaks up, "So then we should pursue him and go overseas as well."

"Yes but one problem," Tsubaki says, "I don't think any ships will be sailing today."

The others nod in agreement but decide to check the port anyways. Sure enough no ships are going to be sailing today. However they were informed that a few ships would most likely be sailing into port in a few days. This would mean that the group will be even further behind the Azure Knight than ever. All they can do now is wait and hope that Nightmare doesn't take too many lives while they are held up.

They decide to stay at the hotel nearest the harbor while they wait. They all have quite a bit of money on them, with the exclusion of Edmund, so each member of the group rents a room for themselves (Lilith being kind enough to pay for Edmund's room). The girls have one side of the hallway while the guys have the rooms across the hall.

They decide it best to stay in the hotel for the day. Adele and Tsubaki decide to go down to the lobby while Edmund and Kain decide to have a spar in Kain's room. Taki and Mitsurugi remain in their rooms as well as Raphael and Lilith.

Raphael, sitting out on the balcony of his hotel room, he notices a familiar golden-haired maiden running out of the hotel. Concerned by the fact that she's running and the fact that she left without word to the group, he decides to follow her.

Raphael hurries out of the hotel towards the direction Lilith was running in. He sees her entering a library. Raphael enters after her but loses sight of her upon entering the library. He quietly walks through the library, careful not to disturb anyone. Making his way up a flight of stairs to another room, he finds Lilith leaning over a table, leafing through a book. He approaches her from behind.

"Lilith?"

She turns around, startled, quickly putting the book back on the shelf. Raphael manages to catch a glimpse of one of the words in the title, "sea-storms".

"I thought we agreed we'd all stay in the hotel," he says to her.

"Well there was just something I needed to research. And why are you following me?" She says, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because I saw you running out of the hotel and I didn't know what you were doing or where you were going."

"I was just going to the library…" She murmurs.

"Well I didn't know that. We should head back to the hotel. Maybe the others have found some more information on Nightmare," he says, nudging her towards the exit.

Lilith complies and the two of them leave the library, the sun beginning to set. Lilith stops in the middle of the street to stare at it, earning an odd look from Raphael.

"Lilith?"

Not responding, she continues to stare at the beautiful sunset. Raphael heaves an irritated sigh, waving his hand in front of her face. Lilith simply moves her head away from his hand so she can continue looking at the sunset.

"What are you staring at Lilith?"

Lilith doesn't take her eyes off of it and simply jerks him in the direction of the setting sun, causing the otherwise graceful man to stumble a bit.

"The sun sets everyday Lilith," he says in a flat voice, regaining his composure.

"I know," she replies. "You should take more time to appreciate the beauty of nature."

Raphael looks at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow, considering her quite the oddball. He then looks back to the setting sun. It was beautiful but they really need to be getting back to the hotel. He knows Lilith won't budge so he stays with her until the sun finally sets.

"Can we go now?" He asks in an irritated tone.

"You didn't have to stay you know," Lilith chides, eyebrows furrowing.

"I can't leave you alone in the middle of town," he says.

"Yes you can. I'm a big girl," she says sarcastically.

Raphael sighs, "Can we just go?"

"I don't care," Lilith says with a shrug.

Raphael sighs once again and walks her back to the hotel, making sure she enters her room before he enters his own.

Lilith immediately walks out to the balcony in her room and stares at the night sky, anxiety filling her heart because of what was to come in the next few days.

Lilith's POV

I look out at the night sky as my heart fills with dread, secretly hoping that the ship won't ever come. It's not that I'm afraid of sailing and it's not that I get seasick. I always have harbored a secret fear of being caught in a storm at sea. Not just any storm, mind you but a storm that produces tropical cyclones. Imagine a ship being surrounded by these spinning vortexes of despair. The situation would make anyone trapped in that situation helpless. I hate that, that feeling of helplessness.

It's about the only other thing I fear next to others finding out I am half-nymph. I keep my eyes on the sky, watching the stars shine. Taking in the beauty of nature is about the only thing that gives me comfort. Down the hallway I can hear the other girls chatting to each other, they must have went down to the bar inside the lobby. They probably think I'm weird since I didn't join them. Well they never invited me anyways. I'm use to it.

I never have been one to make friends anyway. I've always been the lone wolf type. That way I can't get hurt but it still happens. Naomi's dead now and Jed has been dead for years. The two people I allowed to get close to me, both perished. Not a day goes by when I don't think about them. It's common for me to still be thinking about Naomi, considering she just died a few days ago but I don't think I will ever truly be able to cope with her death. I know I haven't been able to cope with Jed's.

A wave of drowsiness begins to crash through my body as I let out a yawn, those sorrowful thoughts taking their toll on me. I decide to turn in for the night, taking one last look at the night sky before closing the curtains, curling up under the covers of my bed. I pray that I won't have any nightmares of sea storms…or worse.

Raphael's POV

Looking out the door to my room, I see Kain and Edmund sparring in the middle of the hallway with Mitsurugi as the referee. I thought Mitsurugi was more mature than this. I thought he and I had a mutual agreement that these men were acting too childish for their own age. I can't help but let out an annoyed sigh as other hotel guests walk by, trying to get around the two young men. They are going to get us kicked out of the hotel.

Kain dodges one of Edmund's attacks, nearly barreling into an unsuspecting guest. Edmund swings his sword high into the air, ignorant of a young girl behind him who is in the direct path of his blade. She moves just in time to avoid being hit as he brings his sword backwards, preparing to slash Kain across the chest. When he swings, Kain crouches down, swinging his leg out and tripping Edmund, who falls backwards, nearly landing on a small child running by.

Fed up with their ignorance, I walk over to Mitsurugi, whispering to him, "They shouldn't be doing this in the middle of the hallway!"

Mitsurugi just laughs and thumps me on the back. I hate it when people touch me, especially idiotic men. Where does he get the idea that he can just do that to me? I bite my tongue, restraining myself from lashing out at him.

"Well yeah but they trashed both their rooms so it's not like they have any other place to do it. Besides they're allowing me to be the referee," he says with a shrug.

I can't believe this! Both of their rooms are in total disarray. Hopefully the maids won't mind too much. I assume they're in there cleaning out the rooms now. At least I hope they are. I shake my head, not wanting to watch the whole fight scene unfold anymore than it has already. I walk back to my room, shutting my door and turning the lock. I decide to write in my journal. I hope Amy enjoys reading this someday, that is, if I can ever be a good father to her again.

As soon as I begin to write my thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of giggling girls. I look out through the spy hole in my door to see Adele and Tsubaki laughing loudly, a smug looking Taki leading the way back to their rooms. They must have been to the bar. I wonder why Lilith did not go with them. I have always assumed that girls stick together. I guess I'm wrong in this case. Then again Lilith does seem a bit out of place with everyone. Come to think of it she seems a bit out of place with the world. She's different but different isn't necessarily a bad thing I suppose.

Once everyone else is in their rooms for the night, I go back to writing in my journal, hoping not to be bothered. I write about five pages before deciding it's time to get some sleep. Right as I am about to close my eyes I hear a woman screaming. By the sounds of it, it has to be one of the girls.

End POV

Raphael runs out into the hallway and looks around at the girls' rooms until he hears the scream again followed by some sounds of thrashing around. It appears to be coming from Lilith's room. Raphael goes up to Lilith's room, knocking on the door. Upon hearing no answer, Raphael jiggles the doorknob. To his relief it is unlocked. Looking around the room frantically for any signs of an intruder, he finds Lilith thrashing around on her bed screaming.

She is even worse than he was when he had bad dreams. He walks over to her, taking her by the shoulders, beginning to shake her lightly while shouting her name. The only response he gets is the louder wails of Lilith and more thrashing. Raphael realizes that this isn't the way to get her awake. Perhaps he should try a more gentle approach.

Slowly wrapping his arms around the girl, Raphael pulls her to him while trying very hard not to get hit. He strokes her hair and whispers comforting things to her like, "It's ok," and "Everything's going to be alright." For a moment Raphael second guesses himself as to why he's doing this. Then he remembers how he silently pledged to help her. If he can help this girl it will put him on the path of redemption. Not only that but he feels something special about this girl, although he would never tell anyone that. It might be the way she stands out from the crowd. She's different and doesn't seem to fit in. Raphael can sympathize with her on that one.

After a few moments of this Lilith screams become less frequent and her thrashes become weaker and weaker until they stop completely. Raphael looks down at the now sleeping Lilith who seems to look quite peaceful resting in his arms. He brushes her cheek lightly with his thumb and cradles her for a few moments. With sudden realizations of his actions, Raphael quickly and gently lays her back down on her bed, pulling the covers up over. He looks at the sleeping angel for a moment before whispering softly, "Goodnight Lilith," as he walks back to his room to get some sleep for the night, making sure to shut and lock her door behind him.

Lilith's POV

Someone's grabbing me! I can't move! I can't move at all! Now they're choking me and I can barely manage to squeak let alone scream. I can't see them but I can feel them and I try to struggle free and scream as loud as I can! Why are they in my bedroom? Why are they doing this to me? Am I going to die? It's like my eyes are open yet I can't move the rest of me. I'm so frightened.

Then suddenly it all stops and I can hear someone speaking softly to me, whispering words of comfort in my ear. I feel myself being held tightly in the arms of someone. My eyes are closed. I think they have been here for a while. It was just a dream, a night terror. I sometimes suffer from along with sleep paralysis.

Suddenly I feel myself being placed back in my bed, covers being pulled up over me. I don't know who pulled me out of my horror but I don't want to let them know that I am awake. I open my eyes slowly as I hear the person make their way to the exit of my room. I open my eyes to see…Raphael. He whispers goodnight to me and shuts the door.

I should thank him but I'm too embarrassed. Why did he even bother checking on me anyways? He just doesn't strike me as the caring type. Too tired to ponder these thoughts any longer, I fall back asleep.

* * *

Happy Turkeyday to those celebrating Thanksgiving today! It's 5am here and I am just getting to bed, hoping to be able to wake up in a few hours so I can help my family prepare the meal. I hope you all eat loads of turkey as I won't be considering I'm a vegetarian. Vale! 


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing so please don't sue…I'm poor enough as it is!**

_Another thank you to __mastersam__ for another great review! This chapter is a bit longer so it took me a while to finish. Enjoy!_

**Day 7**

End POV

The next day the travelers wake up with the sound of rain beating down against the roof of the inn. Lilith is the first to rise, having arisen long before the rest of them. She has a tendency to get up before the first rays of morning's light, before the rest of the world. During this time Lilith has freshened up and changed her clothing. By the time she was done the sun was starting to rise.

Lilith walks out of the inn and out into town. Very few people are out right now, mainly because of the rain. She walks fast, not bothering to look in any particular direction, just straight ahead, as if she already had a destination in mind. Lilith reaches the harbor and sits down at the edge of a dock, swinging her legs over the side as the rain lightly falls.

Sometimes Lilith doesn't know why she acts the way she does. All she knows is that it suits her. So when a little voice in the back of her mind tells her to go outside even if it's raining she does. In this way, though, she detaches herself from normal society. At times she will suddenly grow quiet, focusing on random things in nature such as trees and streams, appreciating it more than others. Other times she will just walk away from a conversation to sit down by a pond or peer over the edge of a cliff. Her way of life is a bit different form the typical way of life. No one connects with nature like she does.

Meanwhile, back at the inn, the rest of the group wake up, getting ready to check the harbor for any ships that may have sailed in during the night. Adele is in the lobby, waiting for everyone else, like they agreed to do last night. She sits on one of the chairs, watching the other people hurry in and out of the inn. Suddenly Edmund plops down on a chair next to her, causing Adele to look over at him.

"Hello Adele!" Edmund says cheerfully.

"Good morning, Edmund," she replies.

"So do you think a ship has come over night?"

"We can always hope…"

Taki and Mitsurugi come to the lobby and spot the two talking. They join in on the conversation. Tsubaki soon joins the group and lastly Raphael. After about half an hour of waiting for Lilith they begin to wonder why she isn't coming down. Raphael secretly worries that it may have to do with the nightmares she had last night. He volunteers to check her room.

After searching her room he does not find her and joins the rest of the group to tell them she is gone but her stuff is still there, the rain beginning to pour down harder.

"So she's not in her room?" Kain asks, raising an eyebrow, wondering where the missing woman could be.

Raphael nods his head, a little irritated that he has to make it obvious and reconfirm it.

"Where would she go in this type of weather?" Tsubaki asks as she gestures towards the rain pelting the streets.

"Who knows…the girl seems to be a bit of an oddball…" Mitsurugi mutters to himself only to get a sharp glare from Taki and less noticeable glares from Raphael, Edmund and Adele.

Tsubaki snickers to herself, causing Adele to roll her eyes at her immature reaction. Adele doesn't really care how people live their lives and is not one to be judgmental, feeling that people should do what they want to do as long as it's not harming anyone else. It made upsets her that Mitsurugi and Tsubaki we're making fun of her behind her back, dishonesty a not so honorable trait in her mind.

"Well I suppose we should go down to the dock to check but it's pouring down rain," Adele says finally speaking up.

Tsubaki looks somewhat surprised but everyone seems to agree with Adele. Tsubaki does not want to go outside. She doesn't care for rain and the thought of getting her new kimono soaked does not appeal to her.

In the end, Tsubaki stays behind. Kain stays as well so not to leave her by herself. The rest of the group set out to trek to the harbor in the pouring rain.

By the time they reach the harbor, Lilith is not there and the rain has stopped. There are no ships at the dock, not one in sight. Taki scans the horizon for any sign of an incoming ship but has no luck. Adele and Edmund decide to go ask one of the local townspeople if a ship came during the night and left already. The person they ask tells them that no ship came and that it should be there any day now.

"That means we have to wait another day…" Adele says, disappointment mixed with anxiety in the tone of her voice.

"Well that's not too bad…besides, the town's pretty decent. We can kick back and relax," Edmund says, smiling reassuringly to the fellow brunette.

"How can we relax when that Azure Knight is out there possibly killing even more people?" Adele asks, her voice rising a little bit as her anxieties escalate.

"Adele we can't help it. We can either sit and relax or sit and worry. Either way we're not getting on the ship any faster," he says, trying to comfort her, "C'mon! We have a whole day to explore the town!"

Adele sighs, finally caving into the requests of the ex-thief. The two tell the rest of the group the news and head off to explore the town together. Raphael excuses himself to go to a local café, despite the warnings of the others not to go alone. Raphael merely shrugs at their warnings, thinking he can take care of himself. Taki and Mitsurugi are the last ones to leave the harbor, deciding to get their weapons checked out by a blacksmith.

"I still can't believe I'm traveling with you," Mitsurugi says as the blacksmith re-sharpens his katana.

"Well it's better than me having to kill you for seeking out Soul Edge again," Taki says, with a small laugh, handing another blacksmith her kunai.

"Like you could kill me," Mitsurugi snorts, cracking his neck.

"Wanna bet?"

"Women…" Mitsurugi snickers to one of the blacksmiths.

Removing their safety mask, the blacksmith reveals to Mitsurugi that she is a female, a rather indignant look on her delicate face as she raises an eyebrow, as if to threaten him. Upon this startling revelation, Mitsurugi cringes, mumbling an apology to both women as Taki smirks.

As soon as he enters the café, Raphael immediately finds a seat towards the back, away from the rest of the customers. He waits for one of the waitresses to take his order.

Unbeknownst to Raphael, Lilith too is in the café, finishing up her tea. The young nymph looks up to see Raphael sitting a few tables away from her. She does nothing to acknowledge his presence, continuing to sip her tea while reading a book that she had stuffed in her pocket before leaving the inn this morning. It was a small miracle that the book did not get wet. She sits there, reading, as Raphael makes an order.

Another waitress comes over to Lilith, a soft smile on her face upon seeing the young woman.

"Find everything to your liking, miss?" She asks, warmly.

"Oh…yes everything is wonderful, thank you. I'll take another cup of tea please," she requests, eloquence in her speaking, always using proper etiquette while dining.

The young waitress nods, going back to the kitchen to fetch the golden haired nymph some tea. While she is back there she remarks to the other girls how polite and well-spoken Lilith is. The owner of the café notices her poise and her beautifully unique look. If only he knew what scars lie underneath her clothing; there is a reason she wears sleeves to her wrists, her pants and skirts to her ankles, and covers herself from the bottom of her neck and down .

"She would make a fine waitress. Don't you think?" He asks the maids.

They all seem to nod in agreement. The owner takes her tea and sets it down in front of her. He then smiles to her.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself here," he says.

"Yes, everything is quite lovely," Lilith replies.

"Are you from around here?"

"No."

"How long will you be here?"

"I quite honestly can't say. Why do you ask?"

"Well I was wondering if you'd be interested in a job here. You seem to be quite well-spoken and you seem to have the personality matching a great waitress."

Lilith blushes softly upon hearing his offer but shakes her head no.

"I'm sorry sir I'm traveling with a group of people. We are waiting here for a ship to come. Perhaps when my journey's over I'll come back and take you up on that offer," she says, smiling softly to him.

"As soon as you're done feel free to come in and I'll hire you right on the spot. I won't forget a face like yours. What's your name miss?"

"It's Lilith."

"Well, Miss Lilith, feel free to come in here every day while you stay in our town," he says bowing politely and walking away.

Lilith is quite perplexed by what just occurred. For once in her life people seem to want her around. It's probably just for business and probably because they know nothing of her background. Lilith did notice that the majority of the waitresses here were quite attractive and Lilith knew that many people found her attractive although she would have to disagree, they never did see the scars.

Raphael is eating his breakfast when he hears her name being called followed by the sound of her voice. Looking over, he sees Lilith sitting at a table by herself, sipping from a cup while talking to a man he can only guess is the café's owner judging by the outfit. As soon as the owner leaves Lilith buries her face in her book once more, hoping Raphael won't notice her. Lilith quickly finishes her tea and pays the waitress, leaving her a generous tip, hurrying out of the café. Raphael finishes his meal quickly, leaving money on the table and follows her out.

As soon as Lilith gets outside she breathes in the fragrant air of the sea, smiling up at the morning sun. She stretches her arms above her head for a moment and starts to head towards the library. Stopping in the middle of the street, Lilith heaves a sigh of annoyance, sensing someone following her.

"Raphael, please stop following me."

"But you didn't show up this morning down at the lobby like we planned. Everyone was waiting for you," he snaps.

"I didn't know we were meeting there."

"Even if you didn't know, the logical thing to do is wait for the others before heading off on your own!"

"Well then I guess I'm not logical," she says turning to face Raphael, a calm expression on her face.

Then for no reason at all, she smiles softly to Raphael before turning around to head to the library. Raphael stands there for a moment, confused by her behavior before catching up to her.

"Can you not hold a normal conversation for more than five minutes?" He asks her as she walks.

"Can you not abide by a lady's request?"

"You shouldn't be wandering the streets alone. Everyone else is sticking together with at least one other person. Think about what happened to Adele when she left her half-brother Kain."

"I can handle myself. I'm not a little girl you know," she says as they reach the library, "Besides why are you alone?"

"I'm…not too fond of company."

"Then why are you still following me?"

"Because you shouldn't be alone."

"Well you're alone, aren't you?"

"That's different, Lilith!"

" It's not different but the fact that you won't let me win this argument is quite blatant," Lilith says as they walk through the front door of the library, muttering something along the lines of, "arrogant obnoxious hypocrite."

Lilith hands one of the librarians a book and then walks up the stairs to another part of the library. Raphael follows her up the stairs. Lilith turns down a few corners rather sharply. Raphael decides to let her search for books on her own and goes to look at other books.

Sitting down at a table, Raphael begins to read a book. While he is reading a loud crash and the sound of window breaking are heard throughout the library. Raphael immediately gets up, running towards the direction of the sound. A masked man is standing in front of a broken window, looking around the room wildly. People, who were in the room, are running out in panic. Raphael stands in the doorway as soon as the people are out, blocking the man's path.

"Out of my way, dog!" The man shouts as he goes to run past Raphael.

Raphael steps to the side and trips the man. The man quickly stands up and Raphael grabs him by the back of the shirt, yanking him back into the room. This man could hurt other people in the library and Raphael will not let him have the chance.

"I'll give you five seconds to leave the way you came," he says, keeping his voice low.

The man does not hesitate, pretending to do as he says, walking over towards the window and in a flash he quickly pulls out some throwing knives and begins to chuck them at Raphael at an unavoidable speed. Raphael steps back, caught off guard just as the man expected. Right when the knives are about to make contact with Raphael, someone jumps in front of him, deflecting every one of the knives. Raphael breathes a sigh of relief as Lilith continues deflecting the knives. After the knives are deflected, she charges straight ahead pushing her katana through the man's lower abdomen, lifting him in the air, blood trickling down on the white carpet.

"You're going to regret this…" The man says coughing up blood. "I am one of the deadliest thieves in this country…you are going to regret crossing paths with me!"

Lilith rolls her eyes, flinging him off her blade so that he falls out the window. Smiling to herself, Lilith leans out the window to assess the damage done to the man. Then she giggles to herself, something uncharacteristic of her quiet nature, "I think I heard something crack!"

Raphael starts to walk towards her but slips over some spilt blood on the floor. Lilith hears a crash from behind her. Turning around, she sees Raphael lying on the ground. The young woman sighs, slapping her hand on her forehead as Raphael slowly stands up.

"You know you could have spilled less blood," he mumbles to himself.

"Yeah yeah…that's the way to talk to the person who just saved you're sorry," but Lilith never got to finish that phrase as she notices something warm red and trickling out of Raphael's upper arm, "You're bleeding!" Lilith gasps.

During the time Raphael tripped he accidentally got stuck in the upper arm with a dagger. Lilith immediately rushes over to him and starts yanking off his coat. Raphael pushes her away from him, protesting like a child.

"Hey let me look at it!" Lilith protests smacking his hands away as she yanks his coat off and yanks his shirt off as well.

"I really don't see the need for this…" He whines.

"Would you rather bleed even more over your clothes?" Lilith asks as she checks out his wound muttering, "I saved you from the knives yet you trip and still manage to get hurt!"

The knife is in pretty deep. Quickly and carefully, Lilith yanks the knife out of his skin, resulting in a loud cry of pain from Raphael. Lilith ignores him and immediately starts to wrap cloth around the wound, applying pressure where she can.

"C'mon let's get back to the hotel and clean out that wound of yours," she says.

"I am not going through town topless!" The Frenchman protests.

Placing her hands on her hips, Lilith sighs in annoyance.

"It could get infected then you would have to lose that arm or even worse! Besides you look fine without a shirt…now c'mon!" Lilith says, practically dragging him out of the library.

With much protesting from Raphael and much pulling from Lilith, the two eventually make it back to the hotel, Lilith shooting death glares at the gaping girls. Lilith rushes Raphael up to his hotel room and shuts the door, gaining many concerned looks from Tsubaki and Kain who saw them pass.

"I can treat it myself!" Raphael says arrogantly.

"Not if you want it treated well. It's at a difficult angle for you to reach!" Lilith says as she reaches into her sack and pulls out some disinfectant. She then proceeds to yank off Raphael's bandage.

Lilith hurries to disinfect his wound, Raphael jerking his arm back.

"What was that for?!"

"It hurts!"

"Quit being a pansy and hold still!" She growls in frustration.

Meanwhile Tsubaki and Kain are outside of the hotel room, listening in on the conversation. Lilith's hurry to get Raphael in his room and Raphael not wearing a shirt provokes some questions in their young and immature minds. The fact that they heard shouts wasn't helping either.

Lilith swings the door open knocking the two back while talking to Raphael.

"See? It wasn't that bad! At least your arm won't get infected now," Lilith says carelessly tossing a blood-stained bandage to the side, landing on Kain's head.

Kain whimpers and throws it off his head, scrambling backwards, causing Tsubaki to snicker and mutter, "Baby…"

Lilith and Raphael turn to look at the two.

"And just what are you doing right outside of my room?" Raphael asks, eyebrows furrowing.

Tsubaki tries to hide her embarrassment, "We saw Lilith pushing you into your room and you weren't wearing a shirt…and then we heard shouting…"

Lilith's face turns bright red as she realizes what they were getting at, hurrying off to her room. Raphael watches her go, slightly confused but then realizes what they meant.

"That's absurd! She was just patching me up…I was attacked by a thief earlier today…"

"Yeah she's a bit young for you anyways," Kain says with a shrug, walking off towards the lobby.

"Are you calling me old?!" Raphael shouts after him.

"I was only joking!" Kain quickly replies as Tsubaki follows him to the lobby.

Raphael then looks towards Lilith's room.

"I didn't even thank her…" He mutters to himself.

With much deliberation and hesitation, Raphael finally makes up his mind to go and thank the young woman. He slowly makes his way to her room, noticing that the door's open. Raphael knocks on the door but she does not come, not even saying anything to acknowledge that she heard him. Fearing that thieves got into her room, Raphael walks in and looks around, finding nothing. He notices that the door to her balcony is open., the sky-blue drapes blowing in the breeze. Slowly, Raphael walks to the balcony and sees Lilith standing there, her skirt and golden hair blowing in the breeze, making her look somewhat like a fairytale princess or…in her case…nymph. Distracted for a few moments he notices that she is whispering something almost inaudible. It sounds like poetry. Raphael slowly walks up behind her.

"Lilith?"

Lilith startles and turns around, placing her hands on her hips and narrows her eyebrows.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" She says angrily.

"I did. Haven't you heard of answering?" He snaps back.

"Well maybe that means to stay out of my room and that I wish for privacy."

"Or maybe that means that you could be in trouble because your door is open."

"I can handle any trouble that comes my way," Lilith says turning her back to him.

Suddenly, she feels the cold steel of his rapier against her bare shoulder. Lilith immediately turns to face him, a confused expression drawn out across her face.

"Then prove it to me," Raphael tells her.

"I don't have to prove anything to you…but in your case I'll make an exception," Lilith says unsheathing her Katana, "Just not in my room I don't want to make a mess."

"Alright we'll go to a deserted place in town," Raphael says as the two walk out of her room and into town.

"Just don't…mess up your arm…" Lilith says softly as they leave the hotel.

"That's why I came to your room. I wanted to thank you for blocking those attacks and for patching up my arm…" He mutters.

"Oh…don't mention it. You did save me after all." Lilith quietly replies as they reach an abandoned alleyway.

"Ladies first," Raphael says bowing.

"You will regret calling me a lady," Lilith says as she swiftly moves to aim a horizontal slash across his upper abdomen, her speed remarkably fast.

Raphael gracefully sidesteps, bringing his rapier down on her back but not enough to rip her clothing or cause her harm. Lilith turns away from his rapier, landing a slash across his left thigh and then swings her leg out to trip him but Raphael jumps over it and lands another slash this time accidentally grazing her cheek. He immediately stops upon catching his mistake and seeing the blood.

"You're face…I'm sorry Lilith…" Raphael says pulling out a cloth from his pocket and reaching towards her cheek to wipe it off.

"It's fine…it's just a scratch," She says as Raphael carefully blots her cheek.

"Lilith…don't you see now that you can't handle everything yourself? I struck you more than you did me. You can't handle things yourself," He says, removing the last bit of blood from her face and puts some disinfectant on it.

Lilith jerks away from him and puts her hand over her cheek upon feeling the cool sting of the disinfectant.

"And you called me a baby…" He mutters.

"Well it was you who put the cut there in the first place…"

"I said I was sorry…besides this proves that you aren't as strong as you think you are…"

"I was simply taken off guard…"

Clouds roll over the grey skies, blotting out the sun. Raphael looks up to see this and begins to walk back towards the inn, motioning for Lilith to come with him.

"Let's get back to the hotel before it rains."

"What's wrong with the rain?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to be out here when it starts."

"Well I do."

"Last time you were out in the rain it stormed and you almost got struck by lightning."

"I did not!" Lilith protests as Raphael grabs her roughly by the wrist, causing her to walk with him back to the inn.

Lilith and Raphael are now at the entrance to the hotel. He holds the door open for her and waits patiently for her to walk in. Lilith says nothing, briskly walking past him.

"Lilith stay inside today it looks like it could do more than rain," Raphael says as he follows her up to their rooms.

"I like thunderstorms. Good day to you, Raphael," Lilith says as she enters her room, shutting the door.

He looks to her closed door for a moment, silently worrying that she may go out in the rain and catch a cold but he stops himself from checking up on her. Why was he worrying so much about her?

Raphael's POV

That girl…really scares me sometimes. I don't know what I should do. Lilith is just so reckless. I've already saved her life once, twice if the thunderstorm incident counts. If she dies now I will feel like that day I saved her from bleeding out was all for nothing. Although I hate to admit it, I've also grown a bit attached to her.

Looking towards her shut door, I wonder if I should invite her over. The others in our group are never alone. It's always Lilith and me that end up spending most of our time in solitude. I don't mind it that much but I often think of how Lilith feels. I don't know much about her but I'm sure she must feel alone, especially since she lost Naomi. Coping with the loss of a loved one is hard. I can't help but feel sorry for her.

The others I could care less about. The ninja and the ronin seem to be about my age but I have nothing in common with them. The other Japanese woman's voice is very grating, Kain is a bit immature, Edmund's maturity is lower than Kain's and the other woman just isn't someone I've talked with much but I'd rather have it that way. All I want is to be worthy of being Amy's father again. I don't care about these other people. I just want Amy. It's time for me to make myself something worthy enough to be a parent, meaning I need to let go of some of my old beliefs and ways.

No POV

Lilith sits on her bed, brushing out her golden blond hair which hung in loose curls. She can hear talking outside her door. It is a few of her traveling companions, by the sounds of it, Adele and Edmund. They are talking about their homes and what a relief it will be to go back to them once the Azure Knight is slain.

"Home…" Lilith murmurs as her brush gently untangles a knot in her golden locks.

Lilith's POV

To go home would be such a privilege for me. I haven't seen my home in years. I can feel tears not yet falling from my eyes, causing a stinging sensation just thinking about home. Mother and father are there. They think I'm dead. I can imagine my mother sitting at the dining room table writing poetry and my father strumming a melody on his lyre by the fireplace. Grandmother is there too. I can picture her reading through one of her many novels or staring out the window, reflecting on her younger years. I can smell the aroma of my mother's cooking which stays in the air even after dinner is served. I can feel the warm atmosphere of my home on my skin. But I know it is all just an illusion.

"I can never go home…" I whisper quietly to myself.

I wonder if they had a funeral for me. They must assume I am dead by now. Or maybe there was just a mass funeral for all of the soldiers who died that day. I will never know. If I have a grave I hope they put peonies on it. They've always been my favorite flower, especially the pale pink ones.

I think about the home I can't go back to far too much as well as the family I'll never see again, wondering what they did after that fateful day. I just want closure but it's impossible.

This is too much for me to think about right now as I feel a single tear slide down my cheek. It doesn't help matters that I am still mourning the death of Naomi. Although I have coped with the loss of a loved one before, it is still a difficult thing for me to do. I will never see Naomi…Jed…or even my family ever again…

No POV

Lilith walks over to her window, looking out at the setting sun. The rain has stopped for the time being and she watches rain droplets race down the glass window, falling to the floor of the balcony below.

When the sun sets, Lilith ceases her gazing, taking out her journal and a pen. She writes down all of her thoughts as well as a few poems. The young woman works late into the night, skipping supper. Once she is done she rereads her poetry. Like an artist eyes his painting for any dissatisfactory brush stroke, Lilith eyes her poems for any word or phrase that doesn't quite fit. After making a few more corrections to refine her poetry, she marks the spot in her journal and closes it, done for the night.

By this time everyone else in the group has fallen asleep. She always seems to be the last to bed and the first to rise. Some may think the lack of sleep is unhealthy but it gives her comfort to be awake when the rest of the world slumbers and before the rest of the world wakes.

Lilith pulls the sheets back from her bed and climbs in. Pulling the covers over her head, Lilith closes her hazel eyes. It takes her a while to fall asleep, many thoughts plaguing her mind.

_That's the end of Chapter seven, hope you liked it! Well Thanksgiving break is over and sadly I have class tomorrow! Oh well, hope you all had a wonderful break if you had one!_


	8. Chapter 8

**There once was a made name Ted. One day he hatched scheme in his head. He wrote a ****fanfiction**** without giving credit. He was caught and now he is dead.**

**I don't want to have the same fate as Ted…I don't own…don't sue!**

_Thank you __mastersam__ for reviewing once again, I really appreciate it!_

**Day 8**

Lilith, the first to wake up, makes her way down to the harbor to see if a ship has come in, not bothering to let the others know that she has gone out. She'd rather not deal with waking them up. From past experiences, Lilith knows it is best not to disturb a warrior's rest. Upon getting to the dock she spots a rather large ship that has just made its way into the harbor. She watches as sailors scurry here and there from the ship, completing the tasks that their captain has assigned to them. Lilith wonders if she should inform the others but reckons it's still too early, going to the café instead.

The workers at the café greet her warmly, recognizing her from the previous day. Lilith orders some tea and finishes reading a book she borrowed from the library. Once she is done reading she heads out towards the library to return the book.

It is still slightly dark outside for the sun has not risen all the way yet. The library is not open so Lilith sits on the doorsteps, waiting patiently for it to open, her hazel eyes fall on the fountain in front of the library. While waiting, Lilith begins to lose herself in her thoughts once again, the novel she just read fresh in her mind.

The novel she read was about love and sacrifice; a mother taking the poisoned dart for her young son, who didn't even really know her. The tragedy of the novel weighs heavy on her heart as she sighs, twirling a lock of her golden hair around one of her slender fingers as she sits on the steps.

As soon as the soon rises higher in the sky, the other travelers begin to wake up; Raphael, awakened to the sounds of Edmund and Kain sparring in the hallway. Groggily yawning and stretching, he makes his way to the hallway to see the two with minor cuts all over and a crowd of onlookers. Heaving a sigh of annoyance, Raphael leaves his room, carefully making his way around them as he walks down the hallway to see if anyone else is awake yet.

Entering the lobby he sees Taki, Mitsurugi, Tsubaki and Adele sitting around a table chatting idly, trying to ignore the conversations going on around them about the two young men fighting in the upper hallway. He has yet to see Lilith.

"I'm going to go see if a ship came in," Raphael says, absently walking from the hotel

Upon reaching the harbor he sees the ship that Lilith saw earlier in the morning. He walks up to the dock and finds the captain, reserving eight rooms on the ship. Upon leaving the dock, he decides to make his way back to the inn, passing the library on the way back. Stopping in front of it, Raphael briefly ponders the incident with the thief.

The library has yet to open, Lilith moving from the steps to a bench near the fountain. Raphael passes the fountain, idly looking it over, dully noting the person on it. Then, doing a double take, he stops and looks at the bench again, realizing it's a zoning-out Lilith. He begins to walk over to her, Lilith making no sign of acknowledgement, her eyes on the fountain, a hint of sorrow reflected in them. Suddenly he sees her lips start to move.

"Naomi…" She murmurs to herself as she stares into the shimmering water.

Raphael takes a seat next to her on the bench yet Lilith is not fazed. Finally he decides to speak, an attempt to get her attention.

"Lilith?"

Startling at the sound of her name, Lilith fixes her gaze on the man sitting next to her, keeping the same troubled look on her face as she acknowledges him.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you wait at the hotel for the rest of us to wake up?" He asks.

"Let's not start this again…I had things to do…"

"Like what?"

"I have to return this library book and the library has yet to open."

"You've been waiting here all morning for the library to open?" He asks worriedly.

"For the most part, yes."

Raphael sighs inwardly, looking to the fountain for a moment before looking back to her, wondering why she would wait all morning just to return a book.

"You know there's a ship in the harbor now. We can leave."

"I know," she says quietly.

"Well I reserved eight rooms. The ship will be departing in a few hours so we should board it soon."

"But I have to return my book."

"Lilith, you should come back to the hotel to pack your belongings."

"But this book needs to be returned. I don't want to be stealing from a library."

"You're not stealing. Besides it's the library's fault for not being open when you need to return the book."

"I'm staying here until it opens," she says firmly.

"Lilith I think it would be best for you to go to the hotel and pack first."

Lilith shakes her head and remains seated. Raphael stands up, offering his hand to her.

"Come with me."

"I'd rather stay here. Don't worry I'm keeping track of time."

Withdrawing his hand, Raphael says nothing, heading back to the inn to tell the others about the ship.

Within an hour everyone is packed and boarded on the ship, except Lilith who still hasn't packed her belongings. Getting anxious about the amount of time that's elapsed, Raphael picks the lock to her room and packs all her stuff up for her, silently questioning himself about helping her. It was her fault after all. After packing everything up, he takes it on the ship for her, putting it in the only remaining room, next to his.

Growing worried because the ship leaves in thirty minutes; Raphael leaves the harbor and goes back to the library, finding Lilith in the same spot where he left her. Unsurprisingly the library is still closed.

"Lilith the ship leaves in half an hour. We need to go now!"

"Well the library hasn't opened so I'm going to wait."

"No Lilith we have to go now."

"Just let me wait a bit longer."

"Ten minutes."

Raphael sits down beside her on the bench, those ten minutes passing by slowly, turning into fifteen.

"Lilith the ship leaves in fifteen minutes we have to go!"

"But I have to return this book!"

"Leave it on the doorstep!"

"But someone could steal it!"

Raphael stands up, motioning for Lilith to get up as well but she refuses. Losing his patience, Raphael grabs her by the wrist, gently pulling her up the best he can while she struggles against him. He snatches the book out of her hands, hefting Lilith over his shoulder while placing the book at the doors of the library.

"Put me down and let me wait!" Lilith protests, not wanting to leave, it is more of sailing anxieties than returning the book that causes her to act like this.

Saying nothing, Raphael continues to the harbor while Lilith, still slung over his shoulder, kicks and punches at him the best she can. Eventually he makes his way on board the ship with her, obtaining a few odd looks from passersby until he puts her down in front of her room.

"This is your room your stuff's already packed," he says wearily.

"I could have done it myself," Lilith arrogantly replies.

"Then we would have been out of time."

"Oh…" Lilith says mumbling something along the lines of "sorry" before she enters her room, shutting the door behind her.

Raphael lets out a sigh of anxiety and goes to his room which is right next to hers.

For the rest of the day the group settles down in their rooms, trying to get use to the feeling of sailing as the ship sails out during midday. Eventually, during the night, they all manage to somehow fall asleep despite this being the first time sailing for some of them.

**Day 9**

The sun rises gloriously over the ocean's horizon as seabirds chirp morning greetings to one another. The atmosphere on the deck is peaceful except on a certain part of the deck. Raphael finds himself waking up to the serenade of crashes and other miscellaneous loud noises.

"I hate the ocean!"

Thud!

"I hate the sea!"

Crash!

"I hate any place where the land's not under me!"

Wham!

He hears this chant followed by various sounds of destruction. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Raphael wonders who is making so much noise. Thinking to where his room is, he realizes Lilith is on the right and Mitsurugi is on the left. He knows Mitsurugi's voice is a lot gruffer than the voice chanting. In fact, that voice sounds a lot like Lilith's but it would be out of character for her to be chanting like that. The sound of something hitting the wall followed by the repetition of the chant, urges him to go and check it out before something worse happens.

When he walks outside he finds several sailors and an annoyed Mitsurugi staring at the room, some of the sailors snickering to each other.

"I've never heard anyone express their hatred of sailing so stridently," one of the sailors says.

"And with such violence…" Voices another.

"Yeah, well it's keeping me up!" Mitsurugi says angrily, pounding on her door.

Raphael watches while walking over to Mitsurugi, incase this takes a turn for the worst. Lilith opens the door still chanting her little poem, anger in her eyes.

"And I hate Frenchmen!" She sings, throwing a paperweight at Raphael.

"And the Japanese!" Another paperweight goes flying towards Mitsurugi.

"Agh! Will you pipe it, woman?!" Mitsurugi says angrily, rubbing where the paperweight made contact (Raphael caught his).

"Don't tell me to pipe it!" Lilith says angrily, rummaging through her room for some more ammo.

"Do you think she's losing it?" Mitsurugi whispers to Raphael.

"More than likely…"

"I can hear you…" Lilith growls.

"Umm…Lilith are you sane?" Mitsurugi boldly decides to ask.

"Of course I am!" She shouts back, hostility coating every word.

"Then why are you still looking for something to throw at me?"

"Because I can!"

Mitsurugi sighs, deciding to leave before he receives any more injuries.

"I will never understand women…You should leave while you still can," he suggests to Raphael.

"I'll take my chances," he replies, cautiously entering Lilith's room.

"I believe this belongs to you," he calmly says, handing the rather unstable looking Lilith her paperweight.

"Get out…" She says between gritted teeth as she snatches the paperweight from his hands, attempting to throw it at him again.

Raphael gently grabs her throwing arm by the wrist, lowering it, "Not until you calm down. Some of us would like to sleep. Lilith, what has gotten into you?"

"Is it not obvious? Did my song not make it clear?"

"You don't like traveling by ship?"

"Well what other conclusion could you draw?" Lilith says, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Well that's no reason to go and throw some huge tantrum. Look at your room, everything's disheveled!"

"I needed some way to vent my anger and being that we are somewhere on the sea I couldn't just go for a walk could I?" Lilith snarls, placing her hands on her hips.

"Are you feeling better now?" Raphael asks, in defeat.

"Oh yes much better," Lilith says, attempting to shoo him out of her room.

"Alright. Please keep the noise down, Mitsurugi has a lot less patience than me," Raphael says, walking out of her room, cringing when she slams the door shut.

"What an angry little woman…" He muses to himself.

As Raphael walks back to his room he notices the sailors, still outside Lilith's room whispering to one another. He could almost swear he heard the word 'nymph' being used throughout the conversation. He knew that Lilith is part nymph only because she told him. Why would these sailors know anything about nymphs? Intrigued, he listens in on their conversation, leaning against the side of the ship cabins.

"So you really think she's a nymph?" One sailor asks.

"Yeah I've read enough mythology and folk lore to tell. Besides, before she threw her little fit I noticed an unnatural light coming out from under her door and no human could possibly do that!"

Thinking nothing else of it, Raphael went into his room, unaware of the conversation's dramatic turn.

"Well she won't be doing that for long," another sailor snickers.

"Why's that?" Another asks, looking up from sharpening a knife.

"You don't know? The legend says that whoever takes the virginity of a nymph or drinks from their blood will be granted immortality."

"Should we kill her and all drink her blood?" One asks.

"No! Are you crazy? That's murder and you know the captain's penalty for murder…death."

"Yeah but only one of us gets her virginity."

The men continue to squabble, debating whether to kill her or to rape her. They were talking about her like she was a piece of meat. Eventually the come to the conclusion that killing her would be too risky.

"Whoever gets her first gets her virginity. It's been a while since we've seen beautiful women. If she reports us I hope our captain will understand."

"She's just a woman! Besides she probably has too much honor to cry rape on us."

Day slowly turns into night, the stars shining in all their radiance once again accompanied by the half-moon. Lilith is awake, calmed down from her tantrum, room now clean.

Lilith slowly finishes the last line of a poem she has been working on and closes her note book, tucking her pen away. She takes note that it is now night time, less people would be outside. That meant that she could have some time to go outside and enjoy the night air. Dressed in a white halter dress flowing to her knees, a light blue shawl that covers her arms and white ballet-flats, Lilith leaves her room. She looks around and finds no one outside, a smile dancing across her perfectly shaped lips as she walks to the side of the deck to look out at the dark water below.

Feeling that something is not quite right, the young woman turns around to find a group of sailors staring at her. She feels her heart leap into her throat at this moment. Lilith recognizes that look of lust in their eyes, suddenly feeling threatened, like a rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves. She decides it best to ignore them, hurriedly making her way back to her room.

Lilith cringes when she feels their eyes on her back. Then a horrifying scenario begins to play through her mind; Sailors often kept themselves entertained with mythology and fables while out at sea. Lilith had accidentally lost control of her nymph abilities before her tantrum, causing her room to glow in a golden light. At least one sailor was bound to see that and by the way things look now one of them had placed her light and a fable together. They were either planning on letting one of them rape her or draining her blood. Either of which was truly dreadful. Lilith's heart begins to beat faster as she hears their footsteps behind her, jumping as she feels a calloused hand grasp her wrist, which looks incredibly thin compared to the mammoth of a hand wrapped around it.

"What's a young lady like you doing out at this time of day?" Says the voice of a sailor behind her.

The young woman freezes, a chill creeping up her spine, goosebumps spreading all over her pale skin as she jerks her wrist away and turns around. To her horror, she is surrounded. Doing the only thing she can do, Lilith gets into a fighting stance, knowing that she will not be able to take on all of them unarmed.

"No need to be frightened, little nymph. We won't kill you. One of us just wants your virginity."

"Stay away from me," she says gritting her teeth, her fists clenching.

The next few moments seem like a blur to her. One sailor grabs her from behind and she stomps on his feet, kicking him away while running as fast as she can. Another sailor catches her and she lets out a shrill scream, struggling away from him. No matter what direction she runs in there is at least one sailor standing in her way. Trapped, Lilith is backed up into a corner. No amount of self-defense can protect her.

Raphael is walking on the other side of the ship when he hears a scream. From the sounds of it, a young woman's. Knowing sailors and what they do when they find attractive young women alone, he runs to the other side of the ship, unsheathing his rapier.

When he gets to the other side of the ship he notices a group of sailors packed around a young woman. It takes him a few seconds to realize that it's Lilith. Feeling a sudden burst of anger, he plows through the group of sailors to stand in front of her, Lilith too scared to move.

"Let her go," he warns.

"And what are you going to do, make us?" One of the sailors asks threateningly.

"Try me," he growls.

One of the sailors swings a knife at him and Lilith screams. Gracefully dodging the knife, Raphael stabs his rapier at the sailor. Since the sailor's arm is raised he manages to stab it through the sailors armpit, plunging it deep into him until he pierces his heart. The sailor slumps over dead when Raphael removes his rapier. Another sailor approaches him, tossing a dagger at his chest. Raphael knocks it away with his rapier and before the sailor can throw another one, he slashes his rapier across his throat. Despite losing two men, the sailors continue to fight them until Raphael kills off three more. After that, the sailors give up, retreating to their bunks for the night. When they are gone, pulling the bodies of their fallen comrades with them, Raphael turns to the frightened Lilith, forgetting that he has just murdered five men. He is also unaware that the captain's punishment for murder is death.

"Are you ok?" He gently asks.

Lilith barely manages to nod, tears in her eyes. Raphael looks over his shoulder and glares at the fleeing sailors then looks at Lilith again, his expression softening as he sheathes his rapier.

"They won't ever try to hurt you again, Lilith. Just stay by me," he says, wrapping his arms around the shaking girl.

Nothing like this ever happened to Lilith once in her eighteen years of life. She felt herself sobbing and shaking in Raphael's arms, only able to cry. She was helpless and surrounded. Lilith found herself feeling humiliated at this moment of weakness in her life. She was supposed to be strong.

"Raphael, what happened?" Says Edmund, who just walked out of his room, wearing pajamas.

"Those dogs that call themselves sailors tried to hurt Lilith," he says angrily.

"Is she ok?" He asks with concern.

"She will be now. Go get some rest."

Edmund nods, making his way back to his room. Raphael focuses his attention on Lilith.

"Lilith, I want you to sleep in my room tonight. I want to make sure those dogs don't try anything else, ok?"

She barely nods once again and Raphael slowly walks her to his room, making sure to lock the door behind him. Lilith just stands there, unmoving with a blank expression on her face. Raphael puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. You're safe now," he whispers.

Taking her by the hand, Raphael leads her over to his bed, sitting her down on the edge of it. Lilith sits there, neither moving nor speaking instead staring at the floor. Raphael sits down next to her, hoping she will say something.

"Thanks…" She whispers, keeping her gaze on the floor.

"There's no need to thank me. I wanted to protect you from them…"

"I'm such a weakling…"

Raphael places his hand on top of hers.

"No you're not Lilith. You were outnumbered and unarmed. No one would be able to defend themselves given your situation."

Lilith says nothing in response, continuing to stare at the floor in silence for a few moments longer before speaking again.

"They were going to rape me…" She says with a shudder, fear creeping into her voice.

"And they didn't get the chance nor will they ever," Raphael says comfortingly, placing an arm around her.

Lilith keeps her gaze fixed on the floor as Raphael stays there, keeping his arm around her. A while later Lilith slumps over, her head now resting on his shoulder. Realizing she has fallen asleep, Raphael lays her down on his bed, removing some stray hairs from her face before sitting alongside the bed.

Raphael's POV

I watch her sleep. Her golden blond hair is tumbling over her shoulders, lying across her chest. With her hazel eyes closed and her calm expression she looks rather lovely when she sleeps.

I can't believe those dogs tried to rape her. Some sailors they are! I don't understand what makes a man think they have a right to do that to a woman. At least I was able to save her.

I'll never forget the look on Lilith's face; horrified, absolute terror, even more than the time the Azure Knight killed her friend. Back then the look was more grief-stricken. Lilith was completely helpless today and that must be a feeling she does not often have. It would have been so humiliating for her if those bastards got away with it.

What confuses me is that all the sailors surrounded Lilith. Along the way I passed several other young women. Why would they just want to rape her? Perhaps it was that she is far more attractive looking than the other women. Or perhaps it was the fact that she is young and they thought she'd be easy to rape. Whatever the reason they have no right to do that to her or to anyone for that matter, especially her. Lilith is just so pure and beautiful. Anyone who would want to harm my Lilith is a monster!

_Your__ Lilith?_

My…Lilith…why would I even say that?

Looking over at her, I see that she is shivering in her sleep. I pull the covers over her. She starts to whimper, no doubt having a bad dream. Brushing some stray golden locks of hair that have fallen in front of her delicate face away, I gently whisper to her.

"It's ok Lilith…you're safe."

She seems to hear me and settles down. I smile at the sleeping beauty, sitting back down at the edge of my bed in case she needs me at all during the night.

_I hope you all liked this chapter! Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome but please do not write anything like, "You suck!" or "Your story sucks!" That will not help me to become a better writer. Have a great day everyone!_


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own anything!**

_Thank you __mastersam__ for reviewing once again.__ Taking your advice, I added in a little bit about Amy's stay with __Kilik_

No POV

**Day 10**

The moon retreats behind the unending ocean waves as the sun rises up to take its place. The stars shimmer one last time before fading into the light blue morning sky. On the deck a few gulls land to pick at food dropped from the previous night, unaware of the carnage that was shed. The only tell-tale sign is the dried blood on the wooden floors of the deck.

It is now that Lilith wakes, her hazel eyes shooting open as she sits up in an unfamiliar bed. She frantically looks around the room, trying to figure out where she is and sees Raphael slumped over in a chair next to her. Realization takes place as the memories of last night flood her mind; the sailors and their lust, Raphael saving her and slaying them, and Raphael coaxing her to sleep in his room so that they do not go after her again. Lilith's eyes soften as she watches him sleep. He slew them for her… He _slew_ them. He could get charged with murder! He could hang for protecting her!

Feeling the tears creep up in the corners of her hazel eyes, Lilith realizes Raphael put his life on the line for her and he could face the consequences. Raising her trembling pale hands to her head, she clutches fistfuls of her golden locks as she begins to sob. The young nymph begins to weep, burying her head in her hands, her elbows propped up on her slim, sheet covered thighs. Tears are flowing down her cheeks like rain pouring down during a summer storm.

"No…" She chokes out between sobs.

Raphael awakens to the sounds of a young woman weeping. Looking over to see Lilith sitting on his bed shaking with sobs, Raphael remembers the night before, her encounter with the sailors. His hands clench into fists as he thinks about what they were going to do to her. Standing up the Frenchman moves over to where Lilith sits, taking a seat next to her while placing an arm around her quivering body.

"It's ok Lilith…they won't ever lay a hand on you again," he whispers into her ear.

The young nymph looks up, her hazel eyes blood shot, brimming with tears and begins to speak with a trembling voice.

"You…saved me…and in the process killed them! Raphael you could be charged with murder! You could hang!" The young woman screams, gripping him by the shirt only to weaken her grip, sobbing once more.

Raphael gently holds her against him, letting her cry. He knew what he was doing that night and was prepared to face the consequences.

"And they could have…" He whispers fearfully. "They could have raped you or even…murder you! I knew what I was doing, Lilith, and I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions. Don't fret though…they'll never hang me!"

"Raphael…" Her words trail off as more tears flow from her eyes. "I don't want you to get in trouble over me…"

"I won't…" He whispers, although he doubts himself inside.

Lilith continues to cry as he holds her close. As Raphael holds her he begins to think of what he has done and the consequences of his actions. All of this…for her. There is only one other person he would ever think of doing that for, Amy. But how he felt for Lilith differs. Raphael is jerked from his thoughts by her slender arms wrapping around him, clinging to him as she cries. He holding her even tighter, he tries to calm her down. They are interrupted from their embrace by three knocks on the door. Lilith's eyes shoot up to meet his, her fear increasing as her embrace tightens.

"Don't let them in…" She whispers in a fearful panic.

"I won't let anything happen to me. Don't worry, Lilith."

They break their embrace and Raphael opens the door, Lilith standing behind him, a look of dread in her hazel eyes as the person behind the door is revealed to be the ship's captain, definable by; his captain's hat, harsh unsympathetic eyes and an outfit that states he is in command. He eyes Raphael warily.

"Is there a problem, captain?" Raphael cautiously asks.

"Yes, there is a problem. The problem is you killed some of my sailors last night. The remaining sailors told me so," The captain says icily, stepping into the room, grey eyes cold and unfeeling.

Lilith's heart begins to race, fearing for Raphael's life. At sea, the captain can choose the death penalty for actions such as what Raphael did and kill him as soon as he sentences him. Tears begin to once again stream down Lilith's flushed cheeks as she trembles, hoping that the captain will not choose the death penalty.

"Yes I did kill them. Those dogs deserved it," Raphael says flatly.

"So you admit it? Well then you know what the penalty is for murder: A life for a life…or in your case a life for several lives."

Unsheathing his sword, the captain readies himself to strike Raphael, Lilith's heart leaping into her throat.

"…Amy?" Kilik asks as he finds the young redhead staring off into the distance, a vacant expression on her face.

Turning her head in his direction, she just looks at him, emerald eyes full of sorrow. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Kilik gives her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry…I'm sure Raphael will return soon," he says, not knowing just how wrong he is.

"No…" Amy whispers sadly, looking off into the horizon once again.

She knew that her beloved foster father would not be returning anytime soon. Amy knew this from the moment he left, his actions a telltale sign. His actions (repeatedly telling her to be safe and continuously looking at her over his shoulder as he left) were like this before he left on his first journey to find Soul Edge and on his journey to destroy the Holy Stones.

"No? I'm sure he'll be back Amy…even if it does take longer! He needs to do this for himself. Just think, the longer the wait the more stories he will tell you!" Kilik says, talking to her as if she were a kid.

Kilik has had no experience with teenagers before and Amy can tell this all too well. At times, she found it hard to put up with Kilik. Another person she finds is hard to tolerate is his traveling partner, Xianghua. Visibly shuddering at the thought of that overly jovial woman, Amy remembers the first time Xianghua met her and how she gushed over her like she was a toddler. Then there was that other man, the pirate, Maxi she thinks that's what is name is. To Amy, all she saw was the stereotype of a pirate whenever she looks at him. The man got drunk all the time and would require Kilik's assistance to make it back from the local bar. Not only that but this man was also the most peculiar person she ever laid eyes on: crazy gelled hair, eyebrows that split at the end, and not to mention that silly outfit he always wore! Like Xianghua and Kilik, Maxi treats her like a child as well, often ruffling her hair whenever he sees her. Oh how she hates that! These people do not understand her at all, unlike her father. Of course she is grateful to have a place to stay but she would much rather be with her father right now.

She overhead him telling Kilik and Xianghua that he was an unfit parent at the moment, that he must go on a quest to redeem himself before ever seeing her again. Amy had to control herself from going in there and telling him just how great a father he was because she knew he would just think her opinion biased. However, she knew that his statement was untrue. He always cared for her; he wanted to change the world so she wouldn't feel estranged from it. In her heart, Amy knows that he is worthy of being her father and would love nothing more than to have him come back.

Ignoring Kilik, Amy rises to stand, heading back into the house, they are staying in, hoping against all hope that Raphael will come back sooner than she thinks.

The captain lunges forward, sword aiming straight for Raphael's chest. Then something catches his eye, something moving incredibly fast in front of Raphael. The captain stops his sword within inches of hitting Lilith, her eyes going wide as she sees just how close she was to death, seeing just how close she was to dying for Raphael. The captain stares at her indignantly, angry that this young woman stopped him from dealing a just punishment to a murderer.

"Please don't…" The young nymph chokes between sobs. "He did this to save me…They were going to rape me or worse…He killed them for my safety…"

The captain stands there, his emotion unreadable as he contemplates the situation. Raphael remains motionless for a moment, overcome with shock with what just happened. He said he wouldn't let the captain kill him but in that instant he felt powerless to stop the blade coming towards him. He would be dead if it weren't for Lilith. His icy blue eyes widen as he realizes that Lilith could have died protecting him. Finally being able to move, Raphael's arms grip Lilith around her waist from behind as he pulls her towards him, protectively. The captain has a look of anger on his face, swearing out loud and shaking his head in disbelief.

"They would have…dishonored a woman?! They must have been the idiots I picked up at the port town. They were always an uncivilized bunch. I'm sorry for that. I acted without hearing your story. All penalties are dropped against you. I'm so sorry…" The captain says, face paling as he realizes he almost killed a man who only murdered to save an innocent girl.

"I will forgive you as long as you tell the rest of those urchins to stay away from Lilith," Raphael replies, keeping his arms around her as he feels her relax a little.

"As you say, sir…I am terribly…terribly sorry for the misunderstanding," the captain says as he turns around and hurries out of the room, conscious racked with guilt.

Raphael slowly lets go of Lilith only to have her turn around, hugging him tightly. He sees that she is crying once again.

"I'm so glad…you're ok…" She whispers to him.

Raphael looks at her for a moment, touched by her words. No one ever cared about him before other than Amy. Wrapping his arms around her, he feels his hand beginning to tremble accompanied by an unfamiliar feeling.

"Lilith…you could have died…"

Lilith only smiles weakly to him.

"But I saved you…and you saved me yesterday..." She replies softly.

Raphael holds her close to him for a few moments, looking at her warmly. Tilting her head up, Lilith looks into his eyes for a moment as he gazes at her. The young nymph immediately pulls away from Raphael, starting to leave his room.

"I've got stuff to do…" Lilith mumbles, hurrying back to her room.

Raphael watches her go, suddenly feeling cold. For the few moments he was with her, he felt…warm. That warm feeling in the pit of his gut told him to follow her but he couldn't bring himself to disrespect her wishes so he remains standing in his room, looking at the spot where she was standing, forlornly.

Lilith makes her way back to her room, violently shaking her head.

"No…no…NO! This cannot happen!" She screams upon entering her room, shutting the door.

Scolding herself, the young nymph screams into a pillow. She needs to deny it, deciding to ignore the feelings in the pit of her heart. She brushes it off as admiration for Raphael because he did, after all, save her life. Besides, she hasn't even known him for that long. Shrugging, Lilith figures it's just the stress that is causing her to feel that way.

Shivering slightly, Lilith wraps her arms around herself. Last night was horrible, those sailors and their ever lustful eyes haunting her whenever she thinks of going outside. From now on, she will always feel slightly uneasy when walking the decks during the night. Never again will she leave her room without at least one weapon, even if concealed. Flopping on top of her bed, Lilith begins to write some poetry. Her poems today consisting of enshrouding darkness tainting purity, much like the sailors after her virginity. Lilith shudders at the thought, hazel eyes staring at the door to her cabin as she finishes writing. The sun was already beginning to set; she had spent the remainder of her day in her room, writing poetry. Sighing heavily, Lilith leaves her cabin for a moment but not without her katana, deciding to grab a bite to eat. When she returns to her room the moon is already out, shining in all its beauty but yet she can't seem to find comfort in nature right now. Sighing, Lilith decides to call it a day; the others in the group spending the day blissfully unaware of what took place.

**Day 11**

Waking up early the next day, the young nymph leaves her room, staring at the churning waves of the ocean. The sky appears to be turning grey as the wind seems to pick up, indicating the approach of a storm. A frightened look crosses Lilith's face as she looks out over the ocean, the wind blowing her golden blond locks and the long sheer blue sleeves of her corset top.

Unknown to the young nymph, Raphael stands behind her, admiring her features from a distance. Seeing her shivering, he wraps an arm around her causing Lilith to jump at the unexpected touch, her hazel eyes meeting his icy blues.

"Lilith…you look cold…" Raphael murmurs to her, tucking some of her loose hair behind her ears.

"Umm…yes…I am…" Lilith says, feeling uneasy about the storm and about being so close to him.

"Is something else on your mind?" He asks, pulling her into a hug to keep her warm.

Lilith leans against him, that awkward feeling suddenly growing stronger. She tries to ignore it and shakes her head. Saying nothing more, Raphael stands there with her, watching the waves become more and more violent.

"I'm scared of sea storms…" she confesses, burying her head in his chest.

Raphael only smiles down at the young nymph in his arms, pulling her in even closer. "Don't be…I'm here, Lilith…" he whispers. "Besides, I thought you liked storms…I saw you out there in the rain that one day…"

"It's just…out at seas…we're helpless…"

The rain slowly begins to fall down on the ship's deck as Raphael to Lilith, holding her shivering body tight against his.

Edmund is messing around at the front of the ship, trying to balance on a pole while Adele watches him, not amused in the least. She snickers as he loses his balance, falling off the pole and landed on his rear without an ounce of grace. Edmund stands up, trying to regain his dignity while brushing himself off.

"What are you laughing at?" He asks Adele, haughtily.

"You."

Edmund glares and then looks out into the sea, catching sight of something startling. He turns to Adele, his eyes wide with fear as he tries to summon himself to speak.

"P-p-pirates!" He exclaims, pointing to the ship closing in on them.

"Pirates? Edmund what are you…" Her eyes drift off, catching sight of the ship as well.

"We must go warn the rest of the ship!" Adele says, running off to find the captain.

Edmund, however, takes a different approach by running around the ship screaming that pirates are coming.

Lilith and Raphael watch him run by, Lilith running over to him upon hearing what he is screaming.

"Edmund…did you say pirates?" She asks slowly.

"Yes…pirates! They're coming!" He screams.

"Well we must defend the ship, get a weapon. Hurry!" She orders.

After a few moments of disarray, Taki, Mitsurugi, Tsubaki, Kain, Edmund, Adele, Raphael and Lilith are on the side of the deck where the ship is coming. Lilith looks to them all, suddenly taking on the role of a leader for she has had a lot of experience dealing with groups of enemies from her training as a soldier.

"Ok…we need some people to get onboard the pirate ship and kill the captain. Perhaps with their leader defeated they will leave. Who here is fast, agile and strong?" Lilith asks, looking over the group, a determined expression on her face.

Adele and Tsubaki look to each other and nod. "We'll go," Adele says.

"Good but we need someone else to go with you to watch your backs. I don't want you getting killed because you were too caught up in your mission."

Kain looks over to Adele protectively and nods to Lilith, "I'll go."

"Alright…the rest of us will stay here and protect the ship at all costs. Taki, Mitsurugi, guard the captain make sure no pirates get within a ten foot perimeter. Edmund, Raphael and I will stay here and kill the pirates as they come onboard. Anyone got any problems with that?" Edmund gulps upon hearing that he will have to kill pirates but says nothing when Lilith shoots him a stern look. He has every right to be scared for this is one of his first experiences in a major battle.

Thunder booms ominously as the pirate ship comes along side of their ship. It is in those few seconds that Lilith notices something that makes her heart leap. They have cannons! Before she can come up with a plan to take out the cannons, the pirates begin jumping on to their ship as the girls and Kain grab ropes, swinging over to the pirate ship. Nobody else realizes the ship has cannons so Lilith knows what she must do. She needs to take out the cannons, making sure that they will never hit the side of the ship or it's lights out for all of them.

Raphael and Edmund to make sure they have the upper hand on the pirates, Lilith sighs in relief noting Edmund is doing remarkably well for one of his first battles. Jumping on a crate, Lilith grabs a rope. Beginning to swing, she steadily gains moment and soon swings over, landing on the deck of the pirate ship.

The first thing that she notices when she lands is that most of the pirates have leapt aboard the other ship, leaving not too many behind. Those who are left behind immediately approach her bearing weapons. Lilith would easily be able to take care of them but then time would not be on her side. Moving quickly, pushing the pirates out of the way, she makes her way through the pirates, occasionally stabbing them here and there as she runs to the steps. Finding the stairs which lead below the deck, Lilith hurries down them, hoping that she will be able to stop them from firing before it's too late. Meanwhile Edmund and Raphael have slain all the pirates that have come onboard, Raphael only now noticing that Lilith is missing.

"Where's Lilith?" Raphael asks frantically, searching around for any signs of the nymph.

"I saw her swing on to the other ship," Edmund says casually.

"And you didn't ask why?" He asks slightly irritated that Edmund did not inform him of this.

"No…I thought she might be going to help the girls and Kain," he says with a shrug.

Raphael notices the cannons pointed towards the ship. "No…" He breathes. "She didn't realize the ship had cannons. She must have gone to stop the cannons! Edmund she needs our help!"

Upon hearing this, Edmund gulps, not wanting to battle anymore, but nods his head as they look for ropes to use to swing over.

Lilith is below deck, stabbing and slashing pirates here and there but this method is of little use for it causes it minimal damage, allowing them to recover and come at her again. She needs to get out of here fast before she is surrounded. Eventually she reaches the cannons, sneaking up behind a pirate controlling the cannon and quickly slicing his neck open with her katana. Lilith bows her head at this, muttering a prayer. Even if they were trying to kill her and her traveling companions, she still took someone's life. Not long after his, she finds herself surrounded by a group of pirates, her earlier slash and run tactics catching up with her.

"Lilith!" Raphael cries out, fighting his way through the group.

"Raphael! We must stop the cannons from firing!" She cries as she slashes a pirate across the abdomen while simultaneously kicking the pirate in the groin as well.

Raphael nods to her and they each run off to find cannons to stop, each having to fight their way through crowds of pirates, occasionally being delayed. Lilith runs to one end while Raphael runs to the other. Raphael has no problem turning the first one around while Lilith kills any pirates that get in her way, turning another one around. The two slowly make their way to the last one, meeting up with each other, noticing the last cannon looks particularly huge.

"Raphael, help me turn this around," Lilith says, "I have a plan."

Raphael nods and is about to help when the two of them are surrounded by a group of pirates they did not finish off. Suddenly a loud explosion is heard and a cannonball rips through the center of the group, barely missing Lilith and Raphael. The two turn to see Edmund pointing the cannon at the group of pirates, a huge grin on his face as he leaps up in victory. All three of them then turn to see water pouring into the ship.

"Let's get out of here!" Edmund shouts, already halfway up the stairs

"Just a second!" Lilith says, using all of her strength to push the larger cannon around.

Igniting the string, Raphael and Edmund see this as a sign to move out and begin to run up the steps, Lilith following behind. The three are reunited with Kain, Adele and Tsubaki as they enter the ship's deck.

"We have to get off the ship. It's going to implode!" Lilith says urgently, handing the three of them ropes.

"Alright…we killed the captain!" Adele says cheerfully.

The three swing over as Lilith hands Raphael and Edmund two ropes.

"Lilith what about you?" Raphael asks.

Suddenly a loud explosion is heard and the ship begins to sink.

"Go!" Lilith shouts.

With concerned looks on their faces, Raphael and Edmund make it to the other ship. Lilith glances at the pirate ship one last time, sadden that so much blood had to be shed, before grabbing a rope and swinging back to the other ship. She doesn't swing far enough and jumps, grabbing the edge of the ship, if only she had left sooner. Raphael sees her clinging on to the end of the ship and runs over to her, grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her up. Falling over, Lilith lands on top of him, blushing softly while rolling off of him, standing up and panting slightly.

"Lilith that was a great idea!" Edmund says, referring to the way she made the ship implode.

Lilith says nothing, her eyes growing wide as she looks off into the distance, seeing something that makes her cringe in horror and runs to her room, slamming the door.

"What's her problem?" Tsubaki asks, seeing Lilith run off like that.

"That…" Kain says, pointing to a huge water twister that emerged in the wake of the storm.

Adele and Tsubaki whimper nervously while Taki shakes her head. "It's not coming in this direction but it is storming. We should go back to our rooms," the ninja says.

Realizing how frightened Lilith is of storms of this nature, Raphael makes his way to her room, knocking on her door.

"Lilith? It's me open the door!" He shouts to her.

Lilith does not answer so he jiggles the door knob, discovering that it is unlocked and enters her room, finding her cowering in fear behind her bed.

"Lilith…it's not coming this way…" He says, kneeling beside her.

"I know but…just seeing it makes me tremble…" She says, her whole body shaking in fear.

Raphael says nothing and wraps his arms around her, stroking her hair.

"I'm weak…that's all I'll ever be is weak…I can't even face my fears…"

"You're not weak…Lilith you're very strong…you were brave enough to fight Nightmare and pirates…you've fought under deadly circumstances…Lilith you have no reason to be frightened…and if that isn't enough…you have me…I can protect you…" Raphael says in a soft voice, trying to comfort her.

Raphael's POV

I hold Lilith close to me, her body is trembling. I cannot leave her alone like this. I told her I'd protect her. The storm howls outside, the sound of roaring thunder echoing throughout the ship. Lilith moves closer to me, burying her face in my shirt. It's so odd…she's always been one to be out there when it storms. Earlier today she told me that she was afraid of storms at sea because she felt helpless. I realize how that feeling of helplessness must make Lilith feel.

I look down to the trembling woman in my arms, wondering why I'm doing this. This girl is causing me to grow soft. I've even noticed myself becoming more social with the rest of our traveling group. I started by watching out for Lilith as a way to redeem myself. Now I care for her and now I am starting to be more sociable with other people. I am changing…and maybe it isn't such a horrible thing.

The storm starts to pass, growing quieter and quieter. Lilith slowly pulls away from me, her beautiful hazel eyes gazing into mine for a moment. I smile faintly to her, mesmerized by those eyes. Then, that feeling comes back. I can feel my hands trembling slightly as I loosen my hold on her. The storm is over and sunlight can be seen under the slit in the door.

"Thank you for staying with me…" Lilith whispers softly, her words like a sweet melody.

"Of course Lilith…I can stay longer if you need me," I offer but as soon as the words come out of my mouth I feel awkward.

"I'm fine but thank you anyways…" She says trying to get rid of the awkward tension between us.

I slowly and unwillingly break away from our embrace and stand up, walking over to the door. I watch Lilith stand up as well, not following me to my disappointment. I bid her farewell and leave her room, shutting her door behind me in case she needs privacy.

Just as quickly as the sky darkened it has brightened once again except now the sun is setting behind the waves. Lilith is right, nature can be quite lovely. The gulls are once again on the deck, pecking at scraps of food. The bodies of the pirates killed are no longer on the deck, probably thrown overboard, the storm washing away their blood. I walk along the deck, thinking about Amy and how one day I would like to take her out on a ship to visit foreign lands. On my way across the deck I notice Adele and Edmund playing cards. Adele laughs and taunts a crestfallen Edmund in a cheer of victory. Tsubaki and Kain join the two and the four of them laugh and chat.

The two girls are about Lilith's age if not a little bit older and they seem so…happy and social. I wonder why Lilith doesn't even try to be happy. I've seen her laugh a few times but I've never been convinced that it is her true laughter. Something about the way she laughs just doesn't seem right, almost like she forces it.

My thoughts are interrupted by the cheerful voice of Edmund, waving at me to come over.

"Hey Raphael! Do you want to play with us? The girls are cheating!"

"We are not! You're just a sore loser!" Adele says, scolding him.

I am flattered to be invited but I shake my head. I've never been too good at cards and I need some time to myself right now to gather my thoughts.

"No thank you. Maybe some other time," I say politely before walking to a quieter place on the ship's deck.

No POV

"I win again!" Adele says cheerfully, taking all the money the guys had put out.

"Hey baby sister do you think you could give me some of the money back since I am your brother after all?" Kain asks her.

"Not a chance, loser pants!" Adele cheerfully taunts.

"That's a wonderful sister you have there, Kain," Tsubaki says, laughing jokingly.

"Oh yeah…she's a sweetheart…" He replies dryly.

Edmund looks away from his group of friends to the man approaching them. It takes him a few minutes to realize that it's the captain of the ship. The group turns their attention towards the captain who smiles politely to the four of them.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're having a small dance on the ship tonight. Come if you're interested," he says before walking away to inform the rest of the passengers.

"Oh how lovely…" Adele breathes. "A dance would be a nice way to forget our pirate troubles."

"Yeah and it gives us an excuse to dress up and better yet…more clothing!" Tsubaki pipes in.

Edmund and Kain roll their eyes, not too happy about the prospect of dances and dancing but the idea of flirting with girls is a good enough reason to go.

Lilith slowly opens her door, scowling upon seeing the captain as he informs her of the dance. Nodding, Lilith forces her lips to curve into a polite smile before the captain continues on his way. A dance meant nothing to the young nymph for she has never been one for social events. She will probably just stay in her room until the dance is over. Seeing the beautiful orange light of the sunset spilling out onto the wooden deck, Lilith slowly walks outside, enjoying the warming light caressing her body. She walks down the deck, unknowingly towards Adele and Tsubaki, who are more than excited for the dance. Upon seeing Lilith they instantly run up to her, cheerful expressions plastering their faces.

"Lilith! Did you hear about the dance?" Adele asks her excitedly.

"Yes…I will not be attending…" She says softly, attempting to pass the two.

"C'mon Lilith! It will be fun! You won't regret it!" Tsubaki says, stepping in front of her.

"I'm sorry girls but I much prefer a night of reading alone in my room…"

"Lilith, that is no fun! Just give us a chance ok? We'll make you look incredibly beautiful…" Adele says, trying to convince her.

The girls were giving Lilith a chance at friendship and this was something rarely offered to Lilith so she agrees to take them up upon their offer. The three of them seek out Taki who is sparring with Mitsurugi, informing her of the news. At first, the ninja seems less thrilled than Lilith but unable to stand the sound of Adele and Tsubaki whining, she agrees to go. The four women decide to pick out new dresses on the ship much to the dismay of Taki and Lilith, who would prefer to wear regular clothing. The ship has many merchants traveling on board and finding one to buy dresses from will not be a problem.

Adele, Tsubaki and Taki each pick out their own dresses, Lilith more confused than Taki at how one picks out beautiful dresses. Noticing Lilith's distress, the three women smile to her and help her pick out something beautiful. Then they head over to Adele's room to help each other with hair and make-up despite the looks of loathing compliments of Taki and Lilith.

A few hours later Edmund and Kain are standing outside the door, looking confused and slightly worried.

"What exactly can they be doing in there for this long?" Edmund asks.

Kain shrugs in response, "I don't know…with women it's hard to tell…"

The sun is beginning to set, indicating that the ball will begin shortly. Mitsurugi walks along the deck, as dressed up as he'll ever get and spots Raphael, greeting him by thumping the Frenchman on the back. This causes Raphael to turn around, trying his hardest to suppress a death glare.

"Hey, are you going to the dance?" Mitsurugi asks.

"No…it's not that I don't like dancing…I just don't like that kind of atmosphere…" He says looking out at the waves.

"That's too bad…the main reason I'm going is to see how those girls end up looking. I mean the four of them crammed into Adele's room and have been in there for hours now… I really want to see what's taking them this long to prepare for a little dance," Mitsurugi says.

"The four of them?" Raphael asks, not realizing that Lilith might be going.

"Yeah…all four of them are going. Adele and Tsubaki even managed to convince that quiet little one to go…"

Raphael's heart begins to beat faster at the news. Lilith was going to the dance and there could be sailors at the dance. He promised her he would protect her. "Actually I think I'm going to the dance…"

"What made you change your mind?" Asks a confused Mitsurugi, totally oblivious.

"A promise…" He murmurs, hurrying to his room to get ready.

"A promise?" The now alone Mitsurugi asks, scratching his head.

As the sun finally sets, passengers are now starting to fill the ballroom at the bottom of the ship. Finally, the girls emerge from the depths of Adele's room, looking incredible. Adele is wearing a sleeveless pale blue dress and matching heels, her long light brown hair done up in a bun tied up with a matching light blue sash. Tsubaki is wearing a dark green dress with a v-neck and sleeves that go to her elbows along with golden heels, her medium length black hair hanging in a low ponytail tied with a green ribbon. Taki is wearing a white dress which has sheer sleeves and matching white heels, her black hair done up into a neat bun. Lilith is the last to emerge, looking the most beautiful in a sparkling red halter dress that flows to her knees and silver heels, her golden curls done half up with the rest of her hair hanging down loosely, the scars on her arms barely noticeable.

The girls make their way down to the ballroom, trying not to trip over their heels. Lilith's heart begins to beat faster. Nervousness is settling in her stomach because she tends not to do well in social situations. The girls chat for a while until Edmund approaches them, asking Adele to dance. Soon Kain follows suit, wanting to get a dance partner so that he can spy on his sister, and asks Tsubaki to dance as well. Taki and Lilith carry on the conversation until Mitsurugi comes over, asking Taki to dance.

"Will you dance with me?" Mitsurugi asks nervously.

"If you are as bad a dancer as you are at sparring I will say no…" Taki says, smirking to him.

"I can assure that I am much more graceful on the dance floor," he says reassuringly.

Taki takes Mitsurugi's hand and he leads her away to the dance floor. Lilith is left alone, standing at the back of the dance floor, watching the others having fun. Turning her back to the crowd of dancers, Lilith finds herself once again lost in thought.

Raphael hurriedly finishes preparing for the dance, quickly walking down the stairs to the dance floor. Many people have already paired off, already beginning to dance. Raphael scans the crowd for Lilith, her short height making it hard for him to locate her as he wades through the group of people. Then he spots her, alone at the back of the ball room, her back turned to him. Even from that angle she appears breathtakingly beautiful. He slowly makes his way towards her as she turns to look at him. His view of her now seems to be even more breathtaking than before. He stares into those hazel eyes of hers for a moment, feeling as though time has stopped before finally holding his hand out to her.

"Shall we dance?" He asks her.

Lilith blushes softly and nods, gently taking his hand as Raphael leads her out onto the dance floor. He has always been a fantastic and graceful dancer. Leading her through the first dance, Raphael wraps his arms around her waist as she puts her arms around his neck, soon learning that she is also a skilled dancer. When they dance everyone else around them seems to stop what they're doing to watch, the couple almost resembling poetry in motion. The two of them dance so beautifully together, never making an error. A few of the men gawk at Lilith who seems incredibly beautiful and desirable to them. The two dance the whole night away, caught up in the moment, only stopping when the music ends, signaling that the dance is over.

"You dance beautifully…" Raphael says to Lilith, staring into her hazel eyes.

"As do you…" Lilith says in response.

Lilith looks around to the other people in the ballroom and notices them staring, cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. Raphael notices this too. Running up to them, Edmund smiles happily to them as Adele runs after him to approach the two.

"Wow! You guys were incredible!" Edmund says cheerfully. "You two were the best dancers here!"

"Oh umm….thank you…" The two of them say, both blushing a little bit.

Lilith and Raphael exit the dance floor a few moments later, having received many compliments from their comrades. "I'll walk you back to your room, Lilith…those sailors could be watching…" Raphael offers.

"Thank you…" She replies, smiling softly to him.

As they are nearing her room, Lilith loses her balance and falls forward, not being one to balance on heels for too long. Raphael instantly reaches out and catches her, gently pulling her up in an embrace. Lilith's face is red as she looks at the floor of the deck as if analyzing all the dirt on it.

"I am such a klutz…" She whispers under her breath.

"No you aren't…" Raphael says, gently taking one of his hands and tilting her face upwards to look at him. "You were amazing on the dance floor and even if you are a klutz…it doesn't matter…you are beautiful…"

Upon hearing these words, Lilith blushes even darker, feeling her heart rate begin to significantly increase. She slowly starts to pull away from Raphael, feeling strange and unsure of her feelings.

"I'm feeling rather exhausted…I think I should turn in for the night…" Lilith says, opening the door to her room.

Frowning when she pulls away, Raphael gently takes her hand, giving it a soft squeeze before she goes into her room.

"Lilith…if you need anything at all…let me know…" He says, smiling softly to her.

Lilith manages to return a faint smile. "Alright…thank you…Goodnight Raphael…"

"Goodnight Lilith…" Raphael watches her go in her room before going back to his own room to get some rest, exhausted from all the dancing.

_This chapter's the longest one yet. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Please review and let me know what you think! Construct criticism is always welcome but __please no flames as that will not help me improve_

Well I just edited this chapter once again…hope it reads a bit better than before!


	10. Chapter 10

**I DON'T OWN IT! NOW PUT THAT SHARP SHINY OBJECT DOWN...OK?????**

_Well here's chapter ten. It's been a while but I've been incredibly busy with the semester wrapping up and everything (tons of essays being thrown at me at once!) Remind me once again why I took to English courses! Thank you to __mastersam__ and __StreetPoetJehosaphet__ for the reviews they were very helpful. And now on with Chapter 10!_

**Day 12**

Lilith's POV

I awake to the sounds of birds chirping, morning coming sooner than I thought it would. It isn't even light out yet. I stretch and make my way over to the washroom, getting ready for the day ahead of me. Walking out on the deck I notice the sun is just starting to rise over the endless waves of the ocean, a beautiful sight to behold. So many times people take for granted the beauty of nature…Although I can't help but hope that we reach land soon. I wonder how close we are to the Azure Knight. Naomi, I will avenge your death.

I still cannot believe my Naomi is dead. It seems like just yesterday she was alive and well, training me to become a skilled assassin. Then again that yesterday is far away now. Sometimes I wish that I could just travel back in time. I would like to see her again…I would like to prevent her death but I know that is impossible.

The wind picks up, causing me to shiver. I can hear the sound of footsteps making their way across the deck. I hear some passengers chatting idly amongst themselves about the dance last night. After the dance…he called me beautiful…I just don't understand it at all. _I don't want to understand it._ Trying to forget about last night, I focus on today, trying to avoid the sailors as much as possible in case any of them are ones who would try to harm me. I will not let myself be put in such a helpless position ever again!

Peering over the edge of the ship, I notice what a lovely shade of blue the water is here. Suddenly, to my surprise, I see a dolphin jump out of the water followed by another. The sight is amazingly breathtaking! I watch them jumping and playing in the distance until they become tiny specks. I sigh and inhale deeply, the fragrance of freshly brewed tea and freshly made pastries filling my nostrils. Breakfast must be ready.

I walk down the deck until I reach a merchant who is selling tea, coffee, and pastries. I purchase a cup of tea and a pastry from him and sit down at one of the tables nearby. Pulling out my notebook from my pocket, I begin to write while I eat my breakfast.

Upon finish my breakfast I notice that the sun is has finished rising. Tucking my notebook away, I head back to my room, seeing Adele as I approach my room. She waves to me, motioning for me to come over. Wondering what she wants, I approach her slowly.

"Good morning, Lilith!" Adele says, greeting me warmly.

"Good morning, Adele," I reply.

"Would you like to go for a walk around the deck with me?"

I hesitate for a moment. She is asking for my company. No one ever does this. I feel a bit…touched. Nodding to her, we begin to walk down the deck together.

No POV

The women walk down the deck together, chatting idly about many different things ranging from how pathetic the men are to how the dance was last night.

"You and Raphael were amazing last night on the dance floor…" Adele says as they walk by a few merchants who try to sell them various oddities.

"Oh…thank you…" Lilith says, blushing softly at the compliment.

"You both looked so beautiful together…everyone was watching you."

"I didn't know that we were that good…" Lilith says, crimson creeping up on her cheeks.

"Oh you two really were. Edmund, however, had two left feet…" Adele says, laughing and fake-limping.

Lilith laughs softly in response, at first startled that she even managed a laugh. "Oh dear…hope he didn't step on you too much."

"Well he did…but it's ok. He's a nice man…not very graceful though…"

Meanwhile Edmund and Kain are at the other end of the deck, staring at each other with fire in their eyes. It isn't long before the two are sparring once again. The sunlight glints off of their blades as Edmund swings his short sword down at Kain only to have him step back, the sword only getting to cut off a few of his dark black locks. Tsubaki walks towards them, sighing in dismay upon seeing them sparring once again.

"Don't you two ever do anything else when you're together?" Tsubaki asks, hands on her hips, slightly annoyed.

The boys stop sparring, Edmund turning towards her shrugging. Kain quickly sheathes his blade, sheepishly blushing in embarrassment only to unsheathe once Edmund challenges him again. Sighing, Tsubaki sits down, watching the two of them spar while basking in the warm sunlight.

Meanwhile, Taki wakes up in an unfamiliar room. Shifting her gaze around the room, the ninja suddenly realizes there is a man next to her in bed. Her eyes dart to the figure on the bed and only when they come in to focus does she realize it's Mitsurugi. Taki gasps, suddenly recalling the night before. She and Mitsurugi had a bit too much to drink, eventually ending up in Mitsurugi's room and things happened. Completely humiliated and annoyed with herself, Taki quickly scrambles off of the bed and hurriedly puts her clothing on. Mitsurugi wakes up upon hearing her hurrying around.

"Oh shit…" He mumbles, realizing what happened last night.

"Not a word to anyone…if you ever tell anyone I will silence you for good! Understand?" Taki warns.

Upon seeing the samurai gulp and nod his head, Taki hurries out of his room, hoping no one will see her. Still feeling a bit hung-over, Taki makes her way to her room, slamming the door shut and crashing on her bed, trying to forget about what happened last night.

Lilith and Adele sit down next to Tsubaki who is still watching the two men spar with each other. The girls sigh out of boredom, idly talking about the dance and other things. Lilith snickers as both men trip over a loose bottle that somehow managed to roll out to where they were sparring. The other women soon notice it too and begin to laugh. Both men stand up, trying to hide their embarrassment while glaring towards the direction the bottle came from.

Back in his room, Raphael is finally done getting ready for the day, taking extra time to look presentable. He makes his way down the deck to the spot where Lilith normally stands as she watches the ocean. To his surprise she is not there. Feeling slightly disappointed, the Frenchman walks down the deck, wanting to talk to her.

Raphael's POV

For some reason, when I woke up this morning I wanted to talk to Lilith. I normally don't want to talk to people but for some reason I can't get her out of my head. The way she danced last night matched me perfectly. I have always been fond of dancing, being quite skilled at it and Lilith's skills border my own. Dancing with Lilith made me feel…whole. Not finding where she normally is, I decide to take a walk around the deck in the hopes of finding her.

Then I notice something out of the corner of my eye, moving fast. Mitsurugi runs by me, smelling strongly of alcohol and begins to puke over the side of the deck. To my horror and utter disgust, I realize that he is completely nude. He must be having some hell of a hangover. With a sigh of disgust, I approach him once he finishes vomiting.

"Mitsurugi!" I shout and he turns around to face me.

"Oh good morning, Raphael!" His says, flashing a tired smile.

"Mitsurugi…you're naked…" I say motioning to him. As much as I dislike the man I am not going to let him wonder around nude on the ship.

It slowly dons on him as his face warps into a look hybrid of bewilderment and embarrassment as a cool breeze blows against his bare body. Covering certain parts, Mitsurugi dashes off to his room. I hold off on laughing until I know he is holed away in his room, hopefully getting dressed. He must have gotten together with someone last night. Although it is unlikely, I hope that it isn't Lilith. I highly doubt that she would ever do something like that and she does not socialize with Mitsurugi that often. However I cannot help but worry for some reason.

Immediately I begin to roam the deck, searching for Lilith. I bump into a few passengers and sailors on the way, not even bothering to excuse myself, receiving angered looks from them. I eventually come across Lilith in the company of Adele, Tsubaki, Kain and Edmund. The five of them are sprawled out on the deck playing cards. I could join them but I would feel awkward playing cards with them. Watching Lilith play, I can tell she is quite good at it but I can sense her uneasiness by the look in her eyes as she smiles at her companions. Then there's that laugh again, a laugh that seems so strained coming from her. Rising to her feet, Lilith bids them farewell and begins to walk towards the spot where I'm at.

To my horror I realize this seems like stalking. Not wanting to seem like a stalker I wait until she passes me to follow her, taking a different route so that it appears that I unintentionally bumped into her. Upon seeing her, my eyes lock with her enticing hazel ones. I beckon her over and she meets me halfway.

"Hello Lilith…" I say, smiling softly to her.

"Hello…" she replies, not keeping eye-contact with me.

"Lilith…what did you do last night after we parted?" I ask rather bluntly, cringing at how obsessive that sounds.

I just want to know if Mitsurugi took advantage of her. She appears rather confused at my question and looks at me with a perplexed expression plastered on her pretty face.

"I just went back to my room…why do you ask?" She raises one of her nicely shaped eyebrows.

"I just…" I begin trying to think of a good lie, "wanted to make sure that no sailors came after you last night…"

I can't believe I'm lying to her. She smiles softly to me and her hazel eyes seem to sparkle. Those eyes…every time our eyes meet I feel completely breathless.

"Thank you for your concern…"

No POV

The wind picks up slightly and blows Lilith's golden locks gently. Feeling guilty, Raphael gives her a weak smile, unsure of what to say. Suddenly he feels horrible about lying to her but relieved at the same time. He was so worried that Mitsurugi might have done something to disgrace her. Suddenly he feels a single tear slip from his eye and roll down his cheek.

Noticing the tear fall, Lilith looks to him with concern and takes a step closer towards him. Lifting a hand to his cheek, Lilith gently brushes the tear away.

"Why are you crying?" She asks him, confused and concerned for she never saw him do this before.

Raphael gently takes her hand that is still on his cheek into his own, unable to meet her gaze. He lowers her hand while keeping a light grip on it, knowing he cannot tell her he lied. A few sailors walk by, causing him to tighten his grip on her hand instinctively when they look towards her.

"Raphael?" Lilith asks, breaking the silence, feeling extremely awkward.

He looks at her once more and notices the confusion in her beautiful hazel eyes. "I…err…there's just a lot on my mind…" He says absently, looking away once again.

Mitsurugi walks by and eyes them oddly, noticing their entwined fingers. Raphael notices the samurai's gaze and looks down at his hand entwined with Lilith's. She is looking away from him, her gaze focusing on something in the distant ocean, her hand slowly slipping from his. Unconsciously his hand grasps hers tighter.

A breeze blows bringing with it a rather cold feeling. Noticing Lilith shivering, Raphael pulls her close to him in a warm embrace, suddenly having the urge to keep her warm. Lilith looks up to him in confusion, blush creeping onto her cheeks as that awkward feeling takes over once again. Gazing back her, Raphael is unable to say anything as he holds her close until he notices a change in her facial expression, as if she remembered something.

"Lilith?"

"I turn nineteen today…" She whispers. "I almost forgot…"

"Happy birthday Lilith…" Raphael says, smiling softly to her.

"Thank you…"

Suddenly Raphael has her hand in his and is pulling her down the deck of the ship.

"Raphael what are you doing?" Lilith asks, confusion present in her tone.

"I'm getting you a birthday present and you are going to pick it out," he says, smiling to her as they reach the merchants on deck.

"Absolutely not! I'm not allowing you to waste your money on me Raphael!" She says, immediately putting her hands on her hips in a childlike fashion.

"You don't get a say Lilith. I'm buying you a birthday present and that's final," he says, then adding jokingly, "You know most girls would love to have people buy presents for them."

"I am not like most girls…remember?"

"I don't care. It's your birthday and I'm getting you a present," Raphael says, leading her over to a merchant.

"Pick out anything Lilith…" He says, as they approach the merchant's stand.

"But Raphael-"

"No buts!"

Lilith refuses to look at anything that he shows her, telling him again and again not to buy her anything. Frustration begins to grow in the young nymph's body as she wonders why he won't abide by her request. Eventually they reach a jewelry stand and a necklace catches her eye but she instantly tears her gaze from it. Noticing her interest, Raphael smirks, knowing that he's won and buys it from the merchant. Looking to Lilith, who has her back turned to him, he sneaks up behind her, putting the necklace on her.

"Raphael!" Lilith exclaims, upset that he has spent money on her but realizing that he is just too stubborn to listen.

"It's a present…relax…"

Looking down at the necklace, Lilith realizes it was the one she was looking at earlier.

"Thank you…" She says while smiling softly to him.

Raphael returns the smile

"Happy birthday Lilith…"

Raphael jumps at the sudden feeling of her thin arms wrapping around his body. Slowly relaxing, he returns her embrace, glad for her company.

"You didn't have to buy me anything…" Lilith whispers, gazing up at him.

"I know…but I wanted to…" He says softly, holding her close.

Edmund looks out at the ever churning waves of the sea, tired from sparring with Adele, who is standing behind him while sheathing her sword. Snickering to herself, the young woman reflects on how easy it is for her to win a spar against Edmund. It's no wonder Kain is able to win against him so easily. Turning around, Adele finds Edmund staring at the ocean, still as a statue.

"Edmund?"

He doesn't respond for a moment but then turns to face her, a huge grin on his face. "Land! Adele, I see land!" The brunette exclaims happily, hugging her tightly.

"That's wonderful Edmund…I can't breathe…" Adele says, gasping for air.

After being released from Edmund's death grip, Adele looks out into the distance to see land.

"Finally…I'm tired of this ship…" she mutters.

"Aren't we all?" Kain asks, approaching them from behind with Tsubaki.

The ship lands on Japanese shores, the group packing all of their belongings up. Lilith smiles as she finishes packing everything, taking one final look at her cabin in the ship. _No more sea…_She happily thinks to herself. The young nymph quickly makes her way off the ship and joins the rest of her group. Soon everyone is off the ship, making their way into town. The town seems to have an uneasy atmosphere just like the last town they were in. They didn't need to ask the inhabitants that it was the Azure Knight's doing, their faces said all.

The sun was beginning to set so they would have to rest at the inn for the night. As they reach the inn the owner tells them that there are only four rooms left, meaning that it would have to be two to a room.

"Well Adele and I will be sharing a room because I want to make sure no one lays a hand on her," Kain says defensively.

"I'm rooming with Taki…" Tsubaki says annoyed, wanting to room with her friend.

This left Lilith, Raphael, Mitsurugi, and Edmund to duke it out as to who would room with whom. Lilith looks to the three of them, cursing her luck. She would much rather room with another female, although she had already roomed with Raphael once before so rooming with him would not be a big deal for her. Lilith and Raphael find themselves unconsciously moving closer to each other, neither of them wanting to room with Mitsurugi.

"Looks like you're rooming with me, Eddie!" Mitsurugi says, thumping Edmund on the back rather roughly.

"It's Edmund…" The brunette corrects him.

Adele shoots him a sympathetic look as they head up to their rooms. Entering their rooms, the cries of battle can already be heard ringing through the hall.

"ONE BED?!?!?! YOU'RE SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR MITSURUGI!!!" Edmund hollers.

"I AM NOT!" Mitsurugi bellows back.

Everyone else can't help but snicker to themselves for they had all chosen rooms with two beds. Smiling to herself, Lilith sets her bags down, choosing the bed near the window. Upon hearing even more shouting, Lilith and Raphael exchange amused looks.

Lilith's POV

I laugh as I hear either Mitsurugi or Edmund hit the wall in the room next to us. Probably Edmund…Raphael has gone to the washroom, leaving me alone in this crummy hotel room. As I sit here, thinking to myself, I become rather bored. There's absolutely nothing to do but rest until tomorrow, when we can continue our journey.

I just want this to be over. I want to kill that bastard for what he did to my Naomi. I want to kill him just like he killed her. A life for a life…that's fair…right? _Was she really your Naomi?_ That thought echoes through my mind a lot. Why would I suddenly start to develop feelings towards her after a few years of knowing her? It wasn't even a developing relationship. It just suddenly struck…like lightning. I mean before that Naomi was my best friend. She wouldn't try to seduce me…no…maybe that night…I wasn't myself.

There's also the mystery of that fragment of Soul Edge. How on earth did it get implanted in my back? I've often pondered this but not long enough to think of answers. I mean how could someone implant that in my back without me noticing? The only person who's ever been close enough to me to even try to do that was…Naomi. She would never do something like that! This is normally the time I stop pondering these mysteries, not wanting to come to the most logical conclusion.

Flopping onto my bed, I notice that the sun is starting to set and figure I might as well try and get some sleep. This isn't my normal bed time but there's nothing else to do and I'm too drained to read. I rest my head on a pillow and close my eyes. Maybe I can actually fall asleep somewhat easily.

In the back of my mind I register that my ears have picked up on the sound of the door opening. I don't care though. All I am thinking about is sleep at this point. Suddenly I sense that there is someone leaning over me. Maybe if I ignore them they will go away… nope. Slowly opening my eyes, I see Raphael leaning over me. I lazily make a shooing motion with one of my hands before closing my eyes again, hoping he will take a hint. Of course he doesn't! I sigh and open both my eyes, rubbing them viciously before glaring at him for pulling me from my sleep.

"What?" I ask groggily, although I haven't even been sleeping. I was just getting into the sleep mode and it's rather annoying to be disturbed.

"Why are you asleep, it's not even that late at night?" He points out.

"So? I'm bored and I'm a bit tired…" I reply, somewhat annoyed that he would wake me up just for that.

"But it's your birthday…"

"It's like any other day of the year…" I sigh, flipping some of my hair away from eyes. I hate it when my hair does this!

"Lilith, I'm taking you out to dinner…" Raphael says, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up into a standing position.

"Absolutely not! You've already gotten me a present. There's no way I'm letting you pay for dinner…" I protest as he drags me across the cheaply carpeted floor of the inn.

"Lilith…you're my friend and I want to take you out for dinner…"

_My friend?_ I'm not use to people saying that. I'm use to having no friends. I'm use to having people dislike me. And this is…_Raphael_ we're talking about. Raphael is more of a lone-wolf than I am…and yet…he thinks of me as a friend…I guess it makes me feel a little happy inside to think of at least one person as a friend.

**THUD!!!** "GOD DAMN YOU MITSURUGI!!!" Edmund shouts from next door.

I chuckle softly at this and I notice Raphael smiling softly to me. "Get dressed Lilith…I'll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes."

"But Raphael I am dressed," I say, gesturing to my clothing.

He laughs at me for a moment and it takes me a few seconds to realize that he is dressed up. I can't say I'm the most observant person right now. _Just what kind of restaurant is he planning on taking me to?_

"I mean formal wear…if you don't want to dress formal that's perfectly fine too…" He adds.

"No! Sorry I got confused…" I stammer, slightly embarrassed.

"Good…ten minutes Lilith," he says before leaving the room.

Formal where? Where is he planning on taking me? I would rather not go somewhere formal but I'd rather not hurt his feelings. Sighing in defeat, I begin to rummage through my luggage for appropriate attire.

Raphael's POV

"Good…ten minutes Lilith," I tell her as I leave the room.

Sometimes I second guess myself as to why I'm doing this but I want to. I want to do this for Lilith. She's my…friend. It's hard to think of me having friends but Lilith is my friend and I want her to have a nice birthday…even if she doesn't think much of them. Besides I've already invested a lot of my time in her so I might as well be her friend. I just feel…different around her as opposed to being with others. Maybe it's because we're both lone-wolf types but then…why would we like being together?

I make my way down the stairs, past the hotel rooms, noting the violent sounds coming from Mitsurugi's and Edmund's room. The two of them do not make good roommates. I see the door almost open on its own as one of them, probably Edmund, goes flying into it. I don't really care. It is amusing but if it keeps me up tonight I am going to make the two of them pay.

Waiting down in the lobby for Lilith, I find myself anxious to see what she wears. That night at the dance she looked…incredible. She was the most beautiful girl at the dance. Those other girls really did a good job dressing her up but she's always had that shine that's all her own. There's just something about her…

I think it's been ten minutes and I anxiously look towards the stairs she will most likely be coming down. I'm hoping she is just taking her time and not backing out on me. I mean…I did go out earlier while she was still settling in the hotel room to make reservations at the nicest restaurant I could find, not that I'll let her know.

Suddenly my attention turns to a few people who begin to look towards the top of the steps. I smile as I see Lilith, descending the stairs, looking like an angel. Her long golden locks are hanging down and her hazel eyes seem to shine. I note that she is wearing the necklace I bought for her which makes me feel…_happy?_ She's wearing a beautiful white dress and matching heels. Wait…can she walk in those? Last time she tripped…

No POV

Slowing descending the stairs, Lilith looks graceful but in reality she is trying not to trip. "Just one step after the other…" She says quietly to herself. _One foot and the other foot.__One foot and the other foot._

Suddenly her heel catches on a nail, poorly hammered in the step and she falls forward. Raphael is instantly at the bottom of the stairs, catching her as she falls, knowing that she would trip. Instantly she blushes as she tears her gaze away from him to focus on the floor. He only chuckles softly and braces her up against him.

"You didn't have to wear heels…" He whispers softly into her ear.

"But you said formal wear…heels are formal!" She protests.

"But you can't walk in heels," he jokes to her, referring to the night of the dance when she tripped going back to her room.

Lilith says nothing and looks away from him, hiding her blush. He only smirks and wraps an arm around her waist, leading her out of the inn.

"Let's not go somewhere too expensive…ok?" Lilith says as they walk down the street.

"Of course Lilith…" Raphael lies as he leads her to the most expensive restaurant on the street.

"Raphael…this place looks expensive…"

"Oh nonsense Lilith…"

They are greeted by the male host, who appears to be eyeing Lilith up. Raphael shoots him a glare and the man gulps and takes a step back.

"Your ta-" The host is about to tell them their table is ready but Raphael shoots him a warning glare and the man suddenly remembers he's suppose to keep it a secret.

Raising an eyebrow, Lilith stares at him suspiciously for a moment as the host leads them to their table. To Lilith it seems oddly set up. Their table is in the back, away from everyone else and there are candles.

"You set this up…didn't you?"

"Of course not Lilith!" Raphael lies, blushing slightly.

"RAPHAEL I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON ME!" Lilith exclaims, rather upset.

"Lilith…calm down…I wanted to make this nice for you…and I don't care about the money…you're worth it…" He says as he pulls a chair out for her to sit down in.

"But Raphael this is so expensive…" Lilith protests.

"I said I don't care…I wanted to do something for you on your birthday…"

"Th…thank you…" Lilith says, stuttering slightly, not use to people doings things like this for her.

"Of course Lilith…"

"But I must admit…fancy places like this…make me a tad uncomfortable…" She frets, looking around the room.

"Oh…I'm sorry Lilith…I want you to enjoy this…" Raphael says, frowning slightly.

"I will! Don't think that I won't. I'm just not use to fancy places like this…" She laughs slightly.

"Alright…you had me worried for a second…" Raphael says, sitting across from her.

"Umm…Raphael?"

"Yes Lilith?"

"Could you tell me what these foods are?" Lilith asks, staring at the menu as if it were in a complete other language, although it is the European side of the menu.

"Of course," Raphael says, surprised that Lilith does not know much about fine dining.

To him, Lilith seems like an elegant woman who would at least know a little bit about noble life. But then again…Lilith is one surprise after another. The waiter comes over and asks them if they're ready. Lilith nods her head and orders water and a salad, earning an odd look from the waiter.

"Umm…I guess I'll have the same thing," Raphael says, shooting Lilith an equally disturbed look.

"What?" Lilith asks, totally oblivious.

"You could have had wine and steak you know…"

"I don't drink alcoholic beverages and I try not to eat meat," Lilith says, staring at her napkin, blushing slightly.

"Oh…I never knew…I'm sorry Lilith…"

"It's alright…I'm just different…"

"But different isn't necessarily a bad thing…" He tells her, reaching out and resting his hand on top of hers, causing Lilith to look up at him as he smiles warmly to her.

After dinner Raphael receives the bill and chuckles to himself. Lilith raises an eyebrow and looks to him curiously.

"You're a cheap date Lilith…" He smirks, looking over the bill.

"Well that's good for you then, isn't it?"

"Yes but you could have gotten anything you know…"

"I know…" Lilith says, standing up slowly relieved that he didn't end up paying too much money on her.

Raphael immediately walks over to her, making sure she doesn't trip in her heels. He smiles softly to her as he leads her out of the restaurant. Lilith walks along side of him, being careful not to trip. As soon as they exit the restaurant, Lilith turns to him.

"Thank you Raphael…" She says, smiling softly to him.

"You're welcome Lilith…I was glad to take you out…" He says turning to face her.

Lilith hugs him tightly and he smiles down to her, returning her embrace. Breaking away from him, Lilith heads back to the inn, not wanting to be held for too long. Raphael walks along side of her, making sure she does not fall.

As they are walking, something catches Lilith's eye, causing her to stop without warning with a strange expression on her face. Walking just a few feet away is a woman with short red hair and emerald green eyes, just like Naomi. She opens her mouth to speak for a moment but can find no words. Raphael taps her on the shoulder, and she turns to look at him.

"Lilith?"

Lilith ignores him and turns to look back at the woman only to see her gone. She then turns to Raphael and shakes her head.

"It was nothing…" she says, seeming out of it.

"Alright…" He says softly, gently grasping her hand, walking her back to the inn.

By the time they get back it is already late at night and everyone else is sleeping…well except for Mitsurugi and Edmund. Lilith goes in the washroom and changes into a thin white nightgown, sleeve-less, and sits on her bed. _Was that really her? No…it couldn't have been…Naomi's…dead…_ Raphael looks over at her, already changed into his sleepwear, noticing the forlorn expression her delicate face.

"Is something wrong, Lilith?"

Lilith is snapped out of her thoughts and looks at him, giving him a half-hearted smile.

"No…I'm just thinking about…things…"

"Alright…I'm going to try and get some sleep…if you need me…wake me up…" He says before lying down in his bed.

Lilith nods and stares out the window sadly. Why were her eyes playing tricks on her like that? Naomi couldn't be alive…could she? Slowing rising from her bed, Lilith opens the door to the room, going out into the hallway. She can't sleep and she does not want to wake Raphael up. Walking down one of the hallways, she finds a window with a beautiful view of the town. Suddenly she feels like she's being followed. Slowing turning around, Lilith finds…Naomi?

"Hello Lilith…"

"Naomi?! But…I thought you were dead!" Lilith exclaims, running over to her and hugging her tightly.

"I can't die that easily…" Naomi laughs, hugging Lilith back but not before noticing her companion's hazel eyes.

"Lilith…your eyes aren't red anymore!" Naomi gasps.

_Why would she be so surprised that they aren't?_ Lilith thinks to herself, something not quite right. Then it hits her, Naomi was the one who placed that fragment of soul edge in her back…but why? Tears start to form in Lilith's eyes and she quickly blinks them away without Naomi noticing. Deciding not to tell her the truth for it could put her in a dangerous situation, Lilith comes up with a lie rather quickly.

"Oh! I am able to control the shade of my eyes. I much prefer hazel."

"Good…good…" Naomi says, stroking Lilith's hair. "Listen…you can't tell anyone you've seen me, ok? I have to get going now but I'll see you again soon. Until then…" Naomi says, pulling Lilith into an intimate embrace as she kisses her deeply, slipping her tongue into her mouth. "We'll be together soon." She says before leaving Lilith in the hallway, alone.

Lilith just stands there, shocked, as Naomi leaves. _How is she still alive?_ The young nymph thinks to herself. And the kiss…it made Lilith feel slightly uncomfortable and she even finds herself wiping her mouth in disgust. Of course she valued Naomi's friendship but over the past few weeks she was beginning to wonder if she just felt a slight infatuation towards Naomi. When Naomi kissed her, Lilith felt nothing, not even one single butterfly. _Maybe I'm not in love with her…_ Lilith thinks to herself. After all, up until Naomi, Lilith had always been interested in men. She even found herself feeling slightly disgusted when Naomi kissed her. Sighing to herself, Lilith heads back to the room.

Lilith's POV

I can't believe that Naomi's alive. I can't believe that she was the one who placed that fragment of Soul Edge in my back. And why didn't she want me to tell anyone I saw her? Something just doesn't seem right. It's like Naomi is hiding something from me, something she doesn't want anyone to know. How can she even be alive? She was dead when Raphael pulled me away from her. She was dead when I lost consciousness. Wait…the Azure Knight…does he have something to do with this? Oh…I'm so confused. All I know is that I can't trust Naomi right now.

I slowly bring my fingers up to my lips, touching them gingerly. Naomi kissed me so that must mean she's still interested in me. But…why don't I feel excited over it? Part of me even feels sickened…I thought I loved her but I guess I don't. Perhaps it was just a passing infatuation or…_she could have seduced you…_A voice whispers in the back of my mind. I violently shake my head no.

"She would never do that…" I say quietly, trying to reassure myself.

But…if she asks me to be with her…what will I tell her? I don't love her in that way at all but I do value our friendship…what if she becomes angry with me? What if I hurt her feelings? I sigh sadly to myself, this is just too much to for me to handle. And what if she did try to seduce me? I don't even want to think about that question.

I make my way back to the inn room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I turn around to find Raphael standing in front of me. I jump back, startled and hit the door knob. I groan and rub the spot on my back that made contact with it. I glare slightly at Raphael, wondering why he is standing so close to me.

"What?" I ask him, slightly irritated.

"Why did you leave the room? It's very late at night! Do you know what kind of perverts are out at this hour?!" He says, almost shouting at me.

"I can take care of myself, thank you!" I angrily snap at him, trying to push past him.

I feel his hand wrap around my wrist as he gently turns me to face him, a stern look on his face.

"No…you can't Lilith…remember that night on the ship?"

I look at the floor for a moment, remembering that horrid night when those sailors almost…when they almost…I sigh sadly, not wanting to remember that experience as I feel my eyes starting to grow teary. Perhaps he's right but we're in a hotel. I slowly look up at him and notice a slightly hurt expression in his icy blue eyes. Does he…really care about me?

"I'm sorry…" I whisper, looking down again.

"Just don't…leave again this late without telling me…alright?" He asks a hint of pleading present in his voice.

I nod to him, my gaze still on the floor. He slowly tilts my head up to look at him, cupping my face in his hands.

"I don't want you to get hurt…" he whispers.

No POV

"Th…thank you…" Lilith stammers.

Raphael smiles softly to her, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulls her close, silently wondering why he has grown so soft towards her. _Yo__u mean more to me than you know__…_he thinks to himself as he holds her. _I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you…_

Lilith looks away from him, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his arms. To her it felt right but that also made her feel very uncomfortable. _Why does this feel…right?_ She thinks to herself, slowing pulling away from his embrace and turning her back to him to stare at the wall.

"I'm a bit tired…" She says, walking over to her bed. "Goodnight Raphael…" She says turning to him, a soft smile on her face.

"Goodnight Lilith," Raphael says, smiling back to her.

Unable to sleep, Adele sighs as she sits up in her bed and looks over at her brother who is lying down with his back turned to her. Sometimes she wonders why they are doing this. The Azure Knight destroyed their hometown but how could they, two young warriors, do anything about it? They had allies now but still…they were only eight people.

"Kain?" She whispers to her brother, wondering if he's awake.

Kain slowly rolls over and stares at her, groggily. "Adele, get some sleep…we have a busy day ahead of us…"

"I can't sleep…I'm scared Kain…"

Kain immediately sits up and begins to look around the room. "Scared? What for? I see nothing here that's the least bit frightening…"

Adele gives him a weak half-smile. If she was truly frightened about something immediately near them she would have woken him up with a much more frantic method. Kain is right in the fact that there is nothing there that is fear-provoking but in the near future which Adele is beginning to dread there will be something to be quite fearful about.

"Kain…you know what I mean…Soon…we will have to face Nightmare…There are rumors he has an army of unearthly demons and the most wicked of men following him. There are only eight of us…how can we…" Her words trail of for a moment, the thought of eight humans against an entire army mixed with demons did not seem to produce a good outcome on the human-side. "How can we ever expect…"

"Adele stop it!" Kain says, instantly getting up from his bed and sitting next to his sister. "Don't think so pessimistically…It's not like you and it's not very becoming…We're traveling with some of the strongest people I have ever met, not to mention that we too, are also very formidable. Some of those demons probably don't even have the cunning that we possess. Sure there will be others like us who follow Nightmare but it won't be a problem…just have faith, Adele…we will…I swear we will be the ones who stand strong against the Azure Knight…Light will prevail over darkness."

Adele says nothing, a slight feeling of doubt still lingering in her heart. Kain looks helplessly to his sister's ever worried face. He wanted to continue reassuring her but he was coming short of things to say. Perhaps, he, himself, also felt the hopelessness of the situation. Finally, he just gives her a warm smile and kisses her forehead.

"You should get some sleep Addy…" He whispers softly to her before rising and going over to his own bed.

_Agh__…I found this chapter a little fluffy! Don't worry there is a lot more action coming up and it will be slightly morbid. Hang in there please I promise it will get less fluffy although there will be some fluffy scenes but oh well I think a mixture is needed. Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter but don't worry it is coming! Please review if you want, I'm open to constructive criticism I find it very helpful! Or you can just tell me what you think of the story. If you don't want to post a review you can always email me at Please__ let me know and have a great day everyone!_


	11. Chapter 11

_I own nothing! Thank you for reviewing once again, __mastersam__ and __StreetPoetJehosaphet_

_Uhh__…I haven't b__een updated in a while and I'm__ terribly sorry. I know I shouldn't make excuses but my laptop couldn't connect to the internet over winter break and the PC that has internet is very slow. __And then a__ few days after returning to school my laptop broke and all the memory would have been wiped out (yes including all my __fanfiction__!) so I had to go to the geek squad to back up all my memory before I manually loaded vista, Microsoft office, antivirus, spyware and a few other programs onto my laptop. (I lost everything but luckily my word documents, pictures and other files were backed up by the __geeksquad__ before I rebuilt the computer). __Bahh__ and did I mention my creative writing class takes up most of my time? __Aghh__…__grr_

_Well after that bit of mindless drabble on with the story!_

**Day 13**

Morning is a wonderful time of the day. It's a chance to leave tomorrow behind and start fresh, the birth of new possibilities. Before the first rays of morning light even fall across her eyelids, Lilith awakens, stretching from her arms to her toes in the pitch black inn. Bare feet treading quietly across the soft carpet, she makes her way to the washroom to freshen up. The tingly-cool feel of fresh water splashing on her face awakens her even more as she gets ready to face the new day ahead of her. Becoming more awake, Lilith recalls the events of the previous night. The startling discovery that Naomi is alive begins to fill her mind as she gets dressed. She becomes so distracted by this that she tries to put on a second pair of pants, growling in irritation when it doesn't go up past her hips. _I could not have gained any weight recently!_ The young nymph thinks indignantly before realizing her error, blushing bright red upon seeing the double layered pants.

Deciding that she needs to take her mind off of Naomi, Lilith decides to head down to the restaurant part of the lobby, hoping that a cup of tea will relax her anxieties. A part of her secretly wishes to see Naomi as she enters the lobby, hazel eyes instantly scanning the place for the curvaceous redhead. To her shock, the young woman finds not Naomi but Adele sitting at one of the tables in the dining room adjacent to the lobby, hair hanging in front of her face as she stares into a cup of some liquid that was served hot but now has ceased steaming.

Slightly concerned that Adele is awake at such an early hour, Lilith slowly approaches her, taking a seat at the table across from the other woman. Adele does not even take notice of the sounds the chair makes as it is pulled across the room nor does she feel the presence of another person staring at her with concerned hazel eyes. Her female traveling companion's state of obliviousness indicates to Lilith that something is quite wrong.

"Adele…are you alright?" Lilith asks, raising her voice slightly to snap her out of her daze.

Slowly raises her head to give a weary smile, revealing dark circles under bloodshot eyes, Adele slowly shakes her head. The shake of her head plus the somnolent appearance of her traveling companion cause Lilith even more worry.

"Adele…did you sleep last night?"

"I…" Adele begins, looking down at her lap for a moment. "couldn't…"

"You seem…troubled…is there something on your mind?"

"Yes…" Adele answers after a moment's hesitation. "It's just…Nightmare's army…hordes of demons and those wicked human followers…how are we ever…" The young woman's words trail off.

"Honestly Adele, I don't know how we're going to defeat them. Sure they outnumber us by hundreds but the strength of one good soul can outweigh the strength of many wicked ones. And we did manage to take down a pirate ship and they clearly had us outnumbered. Don't give up hope! As long as we have that…we should not fear."

Continuing to stare at her lap, eyes not meeting Lilith's, Adele knows what she says is true. They are not even in a location that Nightmare will attack, giving them time to plan and recruit. There is no point in feeling hopeless yet; they still have time.

Knowing that Adele has not touched her cup of tea for quite a long time, Lilith orders her a new one, placing it in front of the young woman while pushing the older one aside. Smiling weakly while whispering a "thank you" to Lilith, Adele weakly wraps her fingers around the cup, slowly lifting it to her lips. To take her mind off of her fears, Lilith starts up a conversation with her that involves nothing of the Azure Knight.

…

Slowly opening his eyes, Mitsurugi sees an unfamiliar blurry shape next to him in bed. His heart immediately begins to pound rapidly because he knows he didn't hookup with anyone the night before. Sharpening their focus, his eyes make out the shape of a familiar brunette sleeping soundly and drooling with his arm wrapped around Mitsurugi's shoulders, the image forever burned in the retinas of the unfortunate samurai's eyes.

"GET OFF THE BED!!!!" He hollers in a panic, shoving Edmund over the side of the bed while breathing rapidly as if having a panic attack.

"Owww…..what the Hell was that for?" Edmund says upon hitting the floor of the inn, rubbing his temples and wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"I TOLD YOU TO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR!" The samurai bellows, face incredibly red with an occasional vein popping out.

"I was on the floor!" Edmund retorts.

"Like Hell you were!! How do you think I woke you up? Picked you up and dropped you? I rolled you off the bed!"

"What?" Edmund says, confused and swallowing hard, not wanting to believe Mitsurugi's words.

"You…" Mitsurugi says slowly, trying to cool down. "were sleeping…in the bed with me in it…how do you not know this?"

Face paling white as snow, Edmund's mouth opens and closes numerous times in disbelief as he takes in this new information and the fact that he has sleepwalked before.

"I DIDN'T DO IT INTENTIONALLY!" The brunette screams, clutching fistfuls of his hair, "I sleepwalk!"

The young man curls up into a ball, whimpering softly, "Please don't hurt me…"

"Yeah yeah…a likely excuse…" Mitsurugi grumbles, throwing all of his clothing and supplies sloppily into his bags.

Gathering up his belongings as quickly as possible, Edmund hurries out of the room at an incredibly fast pace, face glowing the slightest tint of crimson as he passes other guests that were drawn out of their rooms by the screaming. Incredibly humiliated, Edmund walks with his head down as he scurries to the lobby.

"Bad luck…" he mumbles to himself as he throws his bags down upon reaching the lobby, sinking into a chair.

"Edmund…is everything alright?" Adele asks upon seeing her friend mutter incoherently while his head hangs down as if in shame.

"It's j-just fine, Adele…No need to worry…" The brunette stutters, not facing her so that she can't look at his expression of humiliation.

Mitsurugi slowly stumbles into the lobby looking like he's seen a ghost, immediately glaring at Edmund who curls up into a ball in the chair. Looking back and forth between the two of them, Adele gives an inquisitive look but does not press the matter any further. She then turns her attention to Lilith who has apparently zoned out, missing the entire episode. Upon noticing how focused Lilith appears, Adele decides not to distract her from her thoughts.

As the rest of the group gathers, discussing the next stop on their journey, Lilith remains in deep thought, no words reaching her ears. Finally, Raphael gently taps her shoulder, causing her to snap out of her daze, hazel eyes gazing up at him, a distant look inhabiting them.

"You left your bags in the room," He says, noticing the incredibly distant look worn on her face.

"Right…" Lilith acknowledges, slowly getting up and heading back to the room.

Just as she reaches her room, the young nymph stops, sensing a presence behind her. Turning around with a slightly irritated expression on her face, Lilith shoots Raphael an incredulous look.

"You don't have to follow me," she says as she walks past him, vacant expression still on her face.

"Lilith!"

"Yes?"

"That isn't our room."

"Oh…"

She had been in so much of a trance that she didn't even go to the right room. Gently taking hold of her hand, Raphael leads her to their room, wondering about her momentary memory lapse.

"Lilith…are you alright?" He asks, opening the door to their room.

"Of course, Raphael…" Lilith answers, tugging her hand from his as she starts to pack her belongings into a few bags.

"No…you're not alright Lilith…You've been incredibly quiet today…well quieter than usual and you seem oblivious to everything. You even went to the wrong room."

"I'm not, ok?" Lilith replies in an irritated response, hastily throwing clothing into a bag.

"What troubles you?" Raphael asks as she finishes packing everything.

"I'd rather not say…"

He frowns slightly before nodding, "I understand…say no more."

While Lilith was gathering her belongings, the other warriors have come to the conclusion that their weapons are blunt. Dull weapons cannot cut through the skin of enemies. When Lilith and Raphael rejoin the group they inform them of their decision to seek out a blacksmith.

"So are there any blacksmiths around here?" Raphael asks, noticing the vexed facial expressions of Taki, Adele, Kain, and Edmund.

"Yes there's one right across the street from this inn," Taki replies icily, "but some people don't want to go to that blacksmith."

"Well maybe _those_ people want their weapons repaired by someone who knows what they're doing!" Mitsurugi retorts.

"Yutaka lives way up on the top of a mountain! We don't have time to stop there!" Taki argues.

"Yes we do! Besides that specific mountain is in the direction the Azure Knight was last seen headed towards! I absolutely refuse to have any other blacksmith lay their filthy hands on my beautiful blade!" Tsubaki growls angrily.

"We are not traveling to the top of a damn mountain just so that you two can have your swords looked at by some 'professional'!" Edmund exclaims angrily.

"We are and you will come to…unless you want to travel alone, without a wagon might I add," Tsubaki threatens.

Edmund grumbles a few inaudible curse words under his breath as they load their wagons, preparing their long journey to the mountain top.

Everyone is silent as they ride their wagons up the mountains, occasionally stopping to switch drivers. By the end of the day they have made little progress ascending the colossal tree-covered rock. The next day there progress hasn't improved by much. Finally, the next day the weather begins to change drastically, becoming much colder, even more so the following day. The day after that is even colder with occasional snow flurries here and there.

**Day 19**

Raphael's POV

It's been nearly five days now since we left that inn! I am getting so irritated by this never ending mountain that I fear I may push the two idiots who had the idea of coming all the way up this mountain out of the wagon so that we can get out of this wretched place! It's already getting unbearably cold and now the snow has started to fall heavily, the woods surrounding our path covered in white blankets.

Even Mitsurugi and Tsubaki are beginning to have second thoughts. Finally that twat realizes those ridiculous silk kimonos she wears are impractical for this climate. The only one seemingly not affected by the snow is Lilith. Of course she's cold just like the rest of us but she doesn't appear too bothered by it. Perhaps she grew up somewhere in the north. I never did ask her where she came from.

Great! Now Edmund and Taki are arguing over who is going to drive for the rest of the night. It is Edmund's turn but he's claiming to have caught a cold. Their mindless squabbling is preventing me from getting any rest on this journey. Oh great…it appears that Taki is now dangling Edmund over the side of the wagon. Maybe I should go step in so that he doesn't get trampled but then again the little twerp wears on my nerves plenty of times. Taki almost dropped him! It doesn't surprise me that he screams like a girl…

"Taki…" Lilith's soft voice calls out from the back of the wagon as she slowly steps forward.

At least now I don't have to stop her from killing Edmund. The fact that Taki is still dangling Edmund over the wagon either indicates that she hasn't heard Lilith or that she doesn't care. I'm secretly hoping she will drop Edmund. Lilith, now standing directly behind Taki, clears her voice and repeats.

"Taki…"

"Stay out of this, Lilith! Do you want me to dangle you over the edge too?" The ninja threatens.

"I'll drive tonight…"

"You already drove your share today let Edmund do his!"

"I don't care and I'm tired of seeing you hold him out over the edge of the wagon while you steer. You're going to run into a tree soon," Lilith says matter-of-factly.

Uttering a few curses under my breath, I note that Lilith is right and that the idiotic ninja is about to steer into a large tree. Throwing Edmund back on the wagon, Taki swears loudly and jerks the reins so that the horses narrowly miss running into the tree. I'd think they'd stop if they saw a tree but these horses are really stupid animals. Edmund, having not regained his balance, stumbles as the wagons jerks and then trips over his own feet. What a buffoon!

Lilith takes the reins from Taki, a look of well hidden annoyance in her eyes.

End POV

The sun begins to set as they approach what appears to be an old castle. Kain immediately stops the horses when they reach the castle, thinking it would be a cool place to explore as the occupants in the wagon climb out. Lilith stops her wagon as well, not liking the looks of the abandoned place. Edmund jumps out of the wagon, grateful to see land even if it's covered in three feet of snow. Upon seeing Edmund, Adele smirks, chucking a snowball at him, erupting in a huge snowball fight between the two plus Tsubaki and Kain. Taki and Mitsurugi stand in front of the large castle, eyeing it with curiosity.

"I wouldn't go in there…" Lilith warns, approaching them from behind. "I have a bad feeling about the place."

Taki nods in agreement.

"And do you think that's gonna stop us?" Mitsurugi asks with a laugh.

"You should listen to her," Raphael says as he walks over to the group.

"It's just an abandoned castle! It might have valuables inside that we could sell to get more money for our journey!" The samurai argues.

"It's so old that it's most likely falling apart inside! Let's not put ourselves in danger!" Raphael argues back.

Suddenly the sight of Lilith running by them and into the castle catches their attention. Looking around, the two men realize that they are the only two still outside. With a sigh, they head inside the mansion, immediately sneezing from all the dust. Lilith stands near the entrance, looking around for any signs of her comrades, a worried look in her hazel eyes as she shivers.

"I thought you said we shouldn't go in here," Mitsurugi grumbles as he looks over at the girl.

Ignoring him Lilith begins to walk towards the stairs, placing a hand on the rail. Unsheathing her katana, the young woman runs up the stairs as if she's preparing for a battle. Concerned for the young nymph, Raphael runs up after her, following close behind. She runs down a narrow hallway, briefly glances at open doors as she runs, wondering where the others disappeared off to.

"Lilith?"

"They shouldn't have gone inside!" She growls as she hurries down another hallway. "Stay alert! I have a bad feeling about this place…it's almost like we're being watched…"

A scream is heard further down the hallway and Lilith takes off, running towards the source of the sound. Raphael follows closely behind her, unsheathing his rapier and hoping that one of the idiot women just scared themselves. The two eventually reach the end of the hall, where the scream was coming from to find an open door. Not being one to think before she leaps, Lilith charges into the room, immediately stopping dead in her tracks upon what she sees. Adele, Kain, Tsubaki, and Edmund are surrounded by ghoulish creatures rising from the floor. Their weapons are drawn but whenever they try to attack the ghouls, their weapons go through their bodies.

"LILITH!" Raphael screams as a giant spider drops from the ceiling, nearly landing on the young nymph.

A very un-Lilith-like shriek erupts from her as she jumps to the side just as the overgrown spider scuttles towards her. Screaming again, Lilith brings her katana down on one of its legs, severing it from the grotesque body, guts and dark red blood spewing everywhere in a one foot radius. The beast hisses and charges towards her. As skilled a warrior as she is, Lilith should be able to avoid this charging creature but due to an immense phobia of the creepy-crawly, she remains glued to the floor. The spider stands up on its four back legs, preparing to shoot a web at the young nymph as it thrusts its abdomen forward. Suddenly it emits an unearthly wail that sounds similar to nails on a chalkboard as a rapier is driven through its abdomen from behind. A sigh of relief escapes from the young nymph's lips as the spider stops moving, falling limp on Raphael's blade. Tugging his blade from the corpse, Raphael casts the body aside, looking to Lilith with concern in his eyes as he sees her shivering in fear. Even though the spider is dead she still gets chills just thinking about the wretched beast.

"I really detest spiders…" Lilith mutters in a shaky voice.

…

"WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!" Mitsurugi screams as he hacks another mutant spider in half.

"They appear to be arachnids, Mitsurugi," Taki replies in her normally calm voice as she thrusts her kunai upwards into one that hangs above her, spilling guts on her and the floor beneath her.

"Hahaha! You have arachnid-guts on you!" Mitsurugi bellows, upon looking at the carnage-covered ninja.

Without saying a word, Taki flings the goop at the samurai, hitting him directly in the face. Satisfied with her work, Taki decides to move on to the next room in the hopes of finding the rest of her traveling companions, hoping that they haven't had any encounters with the creatures so far. When she opens the door leading to the next room which appears to be the kitchen, she comes face to face with a razor-toothed worm that reaches seven feet in length, two feet in diameter. Jumping back with ease, Taki breathes a sigh of disgust before crouching low, preparing to attack.

…

"EDMUND!" Adele screams as the young thief is hoisted into the air by one of the ghouls and thrown across the room.

Groaning in pain, Edmund stands up while taking out a dagger he was hiding in his boot. Charging towards the ghoul, Edmund thrusts his dagger forward as if to impale it through the center. Like before, the dagger has no effect on the ghoulish creature and goes right through it. Raising a clawed hand, the ghoul brings it down hard on Edmund, causing him to hit the floor.

"This isn't right! How come they can attack us but we can't attack them?" Kain growls as he swings his mace at another ghoul in vain.

"STAY BACK!" Taki cries as she runs into the room, Rekki-maru glowing brightly.

The ninja drives her kunai into the ghoul's abdomen and the mysterious creature vanishes. Tsubaki, Adele, Kain, and Edmund watch in awe as she single-handedly defeats the ghouls with little problems. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Taki looks at the rest of her traveling companions who are still pale as ghosts.

"How did you do that?" Adele asks, slowly approaching her.

"Her blade is fused with magic…isn't it?" Lilith, who was watching from another corner of the room with Raphael, asks as she walks towards her.

"Yes…I fused it myself," Taki answers, sheathing her weapons.

"That's incredible!" Tsubaki exclaims, "Could you do that for our weapons too?"

Her face falls as the ninja shakes her head, "I'm afraid I can't…besides you and that idiot samurai wanted to go that professional blacksmith!"

A loud crash from down the stairs catches the attention of everyone as they look around the room, the only missing member being Mitsurugi. Heaving a unanimous sigh, the group hurries towards the source of the sound, running down the stairs. When they reach the source of the sound, a room used for storing weapons and treasures, they grimace at the sight that greets them. Mitsurugi, with a huge knapsack slung over his back is slowly backing away from a group of skeletal creatures that are slowly advancing towards him, reaching towards the sack.

"Look! You're dead and I'm alive! I need these goods more than you!" The samurai says with a nervous laugh.

_Lilith…_An unfamiliar voice beckons the young nymph as she looks around the room. In the mess of weapons towards the back of the room a blade emits a light blue aura, catching her eyes. Feeling drawn towards the weapon, the young nymph takes a few steps towards it but a hand on her shoulder roughly pulls her back into reality. Turning around she meets the cold dark eyes of Tsubaki.

"What do you think you are doing?" She demands, noticing her traveling companion's distraction.

"I…saw something…" Lilith whispers, casting her eyes towards the floor with the peeling carpet.

"Don't tell me you're going to start helping Mitsurugi!" She exclaims, placing her hands on her hips.

"Umm…guys I could use a little help!" The samurai complains as the skeletons close in on him.

"Drop the sack! That's what they want!" Taki yells, frustration lacing her voice.

"No way!"

"DO IT!" The ninja commands as one of the skeleton's takes a swipe at him, missing and hitting the sack, various treasures and weapons pouring out of it.

"Fine!" Mitsurugi grumbles, dropping the remaining contents to the floor and slowly backing away from the skeletons.

With a bit more persuasion, the samurai steps out of the room, skeletons immediately collapsing to piles of bones when he does so. Feeling brave, he steps back into the room, the skeletons immediately becoming whole again.

"They're obviously guarding the room, Mitsurugi! Give it up or I'll assist them!" Taki warns.

With one last lustful look at the room, the samurai reluctantly steps out, Taki's hand smacking him across the head as he does so. Shooting her a glare, he rubs his head, following the others as they exit the castle.

**Day****20**

Just as it seems they will never make it to Yutaka's place a very large building becomes visible in the distance. On closer inspection, a huge sign hanging above the front doors reads: "Famous Yutaka's Blacksmith shop and Inn". Breathing sighs of relief, Taki and Adele slow the horses down, stopping outside the stables. Mitsurugi and Tsubaki are the first two to jump out of their respective wagons, each running into the shop as fast as they can.

Entering the shop, the traveling companions see the only other customer there, a woman with silvery white hair, striking blue eyes, and an amazing figure filled out in all the right places shown off in revealing clothing. She sits in a chair across from Yutaka in an eloquent posture, smiling coyly to the men of the group, causing most of them to blush and turn away.

"You're telling me you are an alchemist and you made this sword by alchemy and yet…you expect me to fix it?" The blacksmith asks, irritation and confusion coating every word.

"No no no…" The woman says hastily, "I just want you to fix the nicks in the blade, no alchemy is involved in that process."

"But can't you mend it faster with alchemy?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

Upon hearing her snap, the man recoils, grabbing the blade from her.

"Very well…I shall see what I can do."

After taking the woman's weapon back to his workshop, Yutaka returns to the lobby to see what the new arrivals need. The group hands over their weapons to him one by one.

"This will take a few days…" The old blacksmith tells them with a slight frown, "but I have a wonderful inn that you are welcome to stay at while you wait."

The traveling companions hurry off to their rooms, excited by the fact that each of them has their own. After unpacking and taking a brief nap, Lilith finds herself feeling restless and decides to take a walk around the inn. As she heads down towards the main room she finds the silver haired woman talking to Raphael.

"That still does not excuse you for how you broke into my manor!" The woman snaps at him.

"I told you…I was different back then but I give you my sincerest apologies…" Raphael replies, looking rather upset.

The woman smirks to him and leans in close. "Everything is forgiven."

Raphael leans away from her, a shade of crimson appearing on his cheeks. "Once again I offer my apologies, Ms. Ivy…"

"Miss," Ivy smirks, taking his hand in her own. "You are such a gentleman. I've already told you, all is forgiven."

"I thank you for your understanding…" Raphael says, trying not to look at her cleavage that is shoved in front of him.

"So what brings you all the way out here?" Ivy asks leaning in close to him as she sits down on the couch, patting the seat next to her.

"It's a long story…" Raphael says, slowly backing away from her.

"I've got time…have a seat," she offers seductively.

While watching the scene from a distance, Lilith feels a strange burning sensation ripping through her insides. They increase when he takes a seat next to the woman and escalate even higher when she scoots as close to him as possible. She finds herself disgusted by the scene but cannot tear her eyes from it as she looks on.

"I…umm well…I am traveling with others to stop the Azure Knight and to destroy Soul Edge…"

"Hmm…you know I'm on a quest to find the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and I think where there's one, there's the other. You know…where there's Soul Edge there will be Soul Calibur…do you have room for one more traveler?" She asks, rubbing her leg against his.

"I-I suppose…" he stammers as she smirks to him, placing a hand on his thigh.

Suddenly a ball of white light flies across the room at a speed so fast that it is barely visible and shatters a vase on the desk next to Ivy. She screams and latches onto Raphael in fright. Lilith's hazel eyes go wide in horror as she looks at her trembling pale hands, wondering how on earth she caused that to happen and why she feels so angry.

"What was that?" Ivy asks, voice quivering slightly as she looks around the room.

"I'm not sure…" Raphael replies, not realizing who caused it.

Suddenly the young nymph feels the urge to waltz into the room and pry the woman off of Raphael. Hearing their conversation continue and noting the seductive tone of the female's voice, Lilith finds herself ready to explode again, walking into the room. Icy blue eyes darkening when the young nymph enters the room, Ivy's violet frosted lips form a smirk as she places a hand on Raphael's shoulder.

"Isn't this past your bedtime, little girl?" Ivy taunts.

Lilith's left eyebrow twitches slightly upon hearing her last two words. She slowly turns towards Ivy, a look of repressed rage molded into her face, marring her otherwise pretty features.

"Who are you calling a little girl you old cougar?" She spits venomously, with anger and viciousness.

Immediately her hands fly up to her mouth and she stares at the older woman with wide hazel eyes, mumbling a soft apology. Raphael's jaw nearly drops and he has to refrain from gaping, never seeing Lilith ever lash out at someone almost instantly.

"Hello Lilith," Raphael says nervously and abandons the fuming Ivy sitting on the couch to walk over to her.

"Oh is _she_ one of your traveling companions?" Ivy asks.

Raphael turns to face her. "Yes, she is one of my traveling companions."

"Isn't she a bit young for this kind of journey? Shouldn't she be at home, going to school?"

"I'm nineteen. I've seen a lot for my age! How dare you judge me!" Lilith shouts angrily to the woman and turns on her heel, vanishing beyond the door frame.

Without a second glance at Ivy, Raphael follows her out of the room.

"Lilith!"

Placing a hand on her hip, the young nymph turns around to face him, her body shaking slightly in vexation.

"What?!" She snaps.

"Don't you think you overreacted…just a bit?" He asks in a tiny voice.

"No! She thinks I'm a little girl! I'll show her what this little girl can do…I'll tear her limb from limb!"

"Lilith! Calm down!" Raphael exclaims, backing away from her slowly. "What has gotten into you?"

Taking a few deep breaths, the young nymph tries to clear her mind. "I…don't like her…she isn't going to be joining us…is she?"

"I'm afraid she is…"

"I bet you like that…" Lilith mutters under her breath.

"What?!"

"I bet you like her hanging all over you like that…just willing to give herself to you. I saw the way she was seducing you…" Lilith says angrily.

"No-why do you care?" Raphael asks.

"I don't!" Lilith snaps, walking away and leaving him alone in the darkened corridor.

With each step further away, he feels the need to follow her but cannot bring himself to do so. Silently he mouths the words, "Lilith…come back…" Seeing her disappear from view, the Frenchman makes a mental note to find her tomorrow to smooth things over.

Ivy appears in the doorway, looking over the lone form of Raphael. A smirk forms on her overly pouty lips as she sees no sign of the nymph.

"Don't waste your time on children…"

Raphael turns to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "I'm sorry for walking out on you like that Miss Valentine but I must retire for the night." He says, quickly walking away from her and back to his room.

Shivering as the cold night air greets her, the nymph instantly feels the earlier flame of her rage slowly turning to embers. Her hazel eyes gaze at the snowflakes glistening in the moonlight as she walks down a path towards a nearby forest, thinking about what happened only moments earlier. She still feels confused about the whole situation, wondering what made her temper flare in such a short amount of time.

The shadow of a woman suddenly catches her eyes further up the path. Curious, Lilith walks towards the person but as soon as she gets close enough to see their face, the person dashes off further down the trail. Sensing something suspicious about the person, the young nymph gives chase, trailing her for miles. Lilith is a fast runner but the woman is faster. After a few hours of chase, the woman slowly disappears from view, leaving Lilith alone in the middle of the wooded wilderness. Deciding to give up the chase, she turns around, walking back towards the cabin but after a few hours of walking, she realizes she is not getting any closer and has lost her way. Trying to stay calm, Lilith continues walking, marking her trail so that she does not end up going in circles. Exhaustion soon takes over the young nymph's body and she finds her legs growing numb from the bitter air. Unable to walk further and keep her eyes open, Lilith finds herself passing out under a large tree in a heap of snow.

_That's where I'm ending this chapter! Next one will be up sooner than last time. Nice and helpful reviews are always encouraged so don't be shy! By the way, I do like Ivy. She and Lilith just don't like each other!_


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